We've all heard the phrase, "Out with the old, in with the new," right? Well, I have been thinking about this phrase this past month, but mainly this past week. It is a phrase we all take out of context because a lot of people say it way too much.

I believe this phrase's meaning is when we become alive in Christ. When we get rid of our old self, we become new when we surrender our life to Christ, whether it is when we surrender our whole life or when we surrender a certain sin in our life. No matter what you do, you are still taking the old out and bringing in the new. When we put our old self away, we can see the newness of Christ. As Christians, we need to have this mentality in our life because we need to continually dump the sin that is going on in our life so we can continue to live the way God wants us to for His glory. My youth pastor, Steven Dunne said one morning, "When you put on the new, you are putting on relationships with each other." This is what Steven said this point means, "When God changes our heart, we are able to form and put ourselves to relationships." That pretty much means we are able to form relationships with each other easier when we have a relationship with Christ. It is really hard to put our old self away, but we always need to remember that some things we need to let go because things here on earth is temporary, but the things that God gives us, like salvation, lasts forever.

I also believe this phrase's meaning is when we leave one journey behind us and take on the next journey in life. I am currently becoming prepared for my first semester of college. As I've been getting the last things that I need for college, I have realized how everything is going to be new with me once I move into college. I was used to all the routines, teachers, hallways, events, and other things that happened at high school. Now I really have no idea on anything with Mississippi College, where I will be attending. I do know a couple of things about MC, but it is a process of learning everything or at least eventually. I still do not know where my classes or the different buildings are located at, when the events take place, how my routine will be each week, and how the teachers are. Another thing that I have been thinking of is my friends. I have some awesome best friends from my high school, that I know I will not be seeing everyday at school like I used to. I know that God has some great friends that he will place in my life once I move to MC! He has already given me an opportunity to meet some from group messaging on Facebook and the app, GroupMe. I have already made some friends that I know will last a lifetime because of the way we talk! I had the opportunity to help one rededicate her life to the Lord. She had read my personal blog that I started to do about my walk with Christ, and she started messaging me about it because she was experiencing some of the same things I was! Friendships is to help you and encourage you, whether you see or talk to them everyday or not. Friendships will never die as long as they are real friends to you.

Just because you bring something old out of your life and replace it with something new, does not mean that it is a bad thing. Most of the times, it means that it is a good thing because it either eventually needs to be done in your life or it is something for the better. Sometimes we do not understand why things either happen or why we need to get rid of certain things, but we need to remember it is just part of life, and most of the time, it is for the best.

Steven Dunne asked one morning, "Have you put on your dirty clothes again?" Do you keep putting on dirty clothes (sin) or have you washed them so you can live a clean life? The way the world is getting right now, everybody wants to look at either the past or the future, when we need to be worrying about what is happening right now! Most of us fail to realize that we can receive fullness in Christ everyday! How we do not need to keep wearing our dirty clothes so we do not have to worry about all the sin that has happened in our past. I am praying that our nation will come back to Christ as our foundation, even though it is not looking too good. God is able to anything we cannot imagine!