It's so fascinating to look over the last 3 1/2 years of my life, since I began college. Every year, every semester, always there are changes. I never knew as a 16 yr old girl what this journey would hold. But then, no one ever knows what life will hold. I am overwhelmed by the mere fact that I can look back then look at myself in the mirror and feel as though I am a better Christian, better person in general, because of all that I have been through. This time last year, I don't believe I could have said that. I still have two semesters of undergad left, but the thoughts of moving on from this place are already heavy on my mind. It's wonderful and sad...bittersweet.
I've been a commuter, had the dorm room experience, went on a mission trip to Mississippi, was a summer-camper one last time :), promoted to an apartment, put in a lot of hours of community service(!), made friends, lost friends, lost my dear Ma (great-grandmother), spent a summer in London, tried to be someone I didn't want to ever be in the first place, been blessed with some amazing people in my life who helped me learn from my mistakes, spent a summer working in a biomedical research lab, and here I am about to start finals week for the 7th time. To think...those are just the general highlights!
Tears, smiles, laughter, pain, silliness, devastation, hope, learning, failure, forgetting, love, hate, anger, peace. All of these things are life in its complete form. Without them all, and so much more, we will not grow. We will not become who God wants us to be. We fight God, then we submit. We rebel. We worship. One day we will stand before Him, beyond the earthly realm, and know what it truly means to be complete. For now, we have to embrace life in its fullness if we ever hope to live a full life. Don't fear the hard times. Dwell in the joy. Only by enduring the trials can we begin to understand, can we embrace joy that is of God.
"This is what the Lord says: You say, 'This land has been ravaged, and the people and animals have all disappeared.' Yet in the empty streets of Jerusalem and Judah's other towns, there will be heard once more the sounds of joy and laughter. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will be heard again, along with the joyous songs of people bringing thanksgiving offerings to the Lord. They will sing, 'Give thanks to the Lord Almighty, for the Lord is good. His faithful love endures forever!' For I will restore the prosperity of this land to what it was in the past, says the Lord."
JEREMIAH 33:10-11
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
In all things...
1 Thesselonians 5:18
Oh how powerful are these words. In the book "The Hiding Place" there is a certain part where Corrie Ten Boom and her sister are in a Nazi concentration camp and, though they don't understand why or how even to truly be thankful, they declare their thankfulness to God for everything. They even seek an attitude of thankfulness for the fleas that are infesting their building. Later, they find that because of the fleas the Germans avoided the building so they were able to have a lot of freedom and have bible study sessions that brought hope to themselves and countless others in the camp.
Many of us may never experience such severe circumstances, but we all have tragedy and pain in our lives through which God desires that we remain thankful. Not just to be faithful to Him, not just to "make it" through, but to be thankful! You may be going through one of those times when you don't know how to wake up in the morning and get out of bed, much less actually be thankful or happy. You may be in a place of joy and blessing. Wherever you are, praise Him. Praise Him for dying for you. Praise Him for loving you. Praise Him for the sunshine, the rain, the tears, the laughter. It will all come to completion if You trust Him.
Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
Psalm 16:11
You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.Oh how powerful are these words. In the book "The Hiding Place" there is a certain part where Corrie Ten Boom and her sister are in a Nazi concentration camp and, though they don't understand why or how even to truly be thankful, they declare their thankfulness to God for everything. They even seek an attitude of thankfulness for the fleas that are infesting their building. Later, they find that because of the fleas the Germans avoided the building so they were able to have a lot of freedom and have bible study sessions that brought hope to themselves and countless others in the camp.
Many of us may never experience such severe circumstances, but we all have tragedy and pain in our lives through which God desires that we remain thankful. Not just to be faithful to Him, not just to "make it" through, but to be thankful! You may be going through one of those times when you don't know how to wake up in the morning and get out of bed, much less actually be thankful or happy. You may be in a place of joy and blessing. Wherever you are, praise Him. Praise Him for dying for you. Praise Him for loving you. Praise Him for the sunshine, the rain, the tears, the laughter. It will all come to completion if You trust Him.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Renewing of the Mind
So, I was typing an essay for my religion class, it was pretty good if I do say so. It was four good size paragraphs, I was re-reading it.......then my computer did something silly and I lost it all. About an hour of my life. Wasted. I thought I had copied and saved it elsewhere, just in case. But no. It was gone. Luckily, I think my teacher will understand. But that does not help the fact that I just spent all that time on something that will count for nothing. I emailed an explanation to my teacher, because the assignment is due tomorrow. Then I had a few bites of chocolate peanut butter fudge to console the frustration :-) But you know, God knows every second of our lives, every hair on our heads. He knows what just happened. He knows my frustrations. Wouldn't you think He can use even this to teach me something about Him and who I am in Him? I just finished Ecclesiastes last night. Let's explore the Old Testament treasures! "I found great pleasure in hard work" (2:10). "For though I do my work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, I must leave everything I gain to people who haven't worked to earn it" (2:21). "There is nothing better than to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they can" (3:12). "To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life - that is indeed a gift from God" (5:19). "A quiet spirit can overcome even great mistakes" (10:4).
Oh, yes, God can use the little moments. Here's what these verses prompt me to ask myself in this moment. Do I enjoy what I am doing with my life? Do I find joy through my work because it is what God wants me to do? Even though I will not necessarily get a letter grade for this assignment did I enjoy what I learned, can I take that and use it in life, did I learn? How can I process the frustration and react in a way that pleases God? How many times a day do I let frustration overpower the still small voice telling me to stop, breathe, and push through with patience and humility? How many little lessons have I missed today because I didn't stop to ask what God might be teaching me?
God is so unfathomable. Yet, He is so present in this tiny moment of my life. How can that be!? I cannot know. But I can tell you that if you seek to feel His presence, to know Him in your daily life, to feel the reality of the religion that surrounds us on bill boards, in mega churches, in worship where we go through the motions, in words we find ridiculous, in stories we can't explain... if you want to know, seek Him, seek truth, seek the love of a Father and you will find it. He is here. He is active. He loves. My life is not guided by some obscure "destiny." It is in the strong, nail-scarred hands of God. Finding Him in this moment makes me desire to know Him more, to have a mind more focused on Him, to become more like Christ, to always see things differently than the world does.
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:2
Oh, yes, God can use the little moments. Here's what these verses prompt me to ask myself in this moment. Do I enjoy what I am doing with my life? Do I find joy through my work because it is what God wants me to do? Even though I will not necessarily get a letter grade for this assignment did I enjoy what I learned, can I take that and use it in life, did I learn? How can I process the frustration and react in a way that pleases God? How many times a day do I let frustration overpower the still small voice telling me to stop, breathe, and push through with patience and humility? How many little lessons have I missed today because I didn't stop to ask what God might be teaching me?
God is so unfathomable. Yet, He is so present in this tiny moment of my life. How can that be!? I cannot know. But I can tell you that if you seek to feel His presence, to know Him in your daily life, to feel the reality of the religion that surrounds us on bill boards, in mega churches, in worship where we go through the motions, in words we find ridiculous, in stories we can't explain... if you want to know, seek Him, seek truth, seek the love of a Father and you will find it. He is here. He is active. He loves. My life is not guided by some obscure "destiny." It is in the strong, nail-scarred hands of God. Finding Him in this moment makes me desire to know Him more, to have a mind more focused on Him, to become more like Christ, to always see things differently than the world does.
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:2
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Perspectives on Understanding
Dear Reader,
I'm sure you can offer questions that I couldn't possibly answer about why God does certain things or what some stories in the Bible mean for us now. But I think we too often give up when someone can't explain something to us. Whatever happened to good old fashioned gumption? Haha. Just because we are confused by something and seem to not have an answer doesn't mean that the answer doesn't exist. I well know what it is to want to ignore something if it doesn't make sense. Sometimes professors can't tell me what is actually happening during a chemical reaction or explain why a certain calculation happens to work to give us the right answer. That doesn't mean I'm supposed to just accept it and move on or ignore it and stop using it. The best professors will tell you, when no one seems to have an answer, that's when you don't give up. That's when you start looking, ask questions, find new resources. You can figure it out. The same is true with the Bible and God. If you don't understand something and friends, a preacher, no one can explain it to you. That's when you take a step back, tell God you don't understand but you want to. It may take days, months, even years to understand something or God may choose that you do not understand something. I won't lie to you. He may ask the unthinkable, that you take something on faith ;) But if you seek the truth, you will find truth and/or peace. Some of the greatest moments in my walk with God have been, not when I understood something I was struggling with, but when I found that I had gained peace about not knowing something. When I realized I didn't need to know that particular thing at that moment and it was okay. God is still perfect, with knowledge far beyond mine. I am still human, with an infinite amount to learn. And that's okay. As a matter of fact, that is wonderful. Even though I don't understand, I serve a God who does! And I keep seeking Him above all. Seeking His truth and His answers. Finding blessing in the very fact that He allows us to question Him. "Who am I, that I should try to answer God or even reason with Him?" Job 9:14. But Job goes ahead and has his words with God! God sets him straight in the end, but He let Job speak. We serve that same God. Just try to grasp the intensity of that...I don't think I am quite able to. It's one reason Life is such and Adventure!
Blessings <3
I'm sure you can offer questions that I couldn't possibly answer about why God does certain things or what some stories in the Bible mean for us now. But I think we too often give up when someone can't explain something to us. Whatever happened to good old fashioned gumption? Haha. Just because we are confused by something and seem to not have an answer doesn't mean that the answer doesn't exist. I well know what it is to want to ignore something if it doesn't make sense. Sometimes professors can't tell me what is actually happening during a chemical reaction or explain why a certain calculation happens to work to give us the right answer. That doesn't mean I'm supposed to just accept it and move on or ignore it and stop using it. The best professors will tell you, when no one seems to have an answer, that's when you don't give up. That's when you start looking, ask questions, find new resources. You can figure it out. The same is true with the Bible and God. If you don't understand something and friends, a preacher, no one can explain it to you. That's when you take a step back, tell God you don't understand but you want to. It may take days, months, even years to understand something or God may choose that you do not understand something. I won't lie to you. He may ask the unthinkable, that you take something on faith ;) But if you seek the truth, you will find truth and/or peace. Some of the greatest moments in my walk with God have been, not when I understood something I was struggling with, but when I found that I had gained peace about not knowing something. When I realized I didn't need to know that particular thing at that moment and it was okay. God is still perfect, with knowledge far beyond mine. I am still human, with an infinite amount to learn. And that's okay. As a matter of fact, that is wonderful. Even though I don't understand, I serve a God who does! And I keep seeking Him above all. Seeking His truth and His answers. Finding blessing in the very fact that He allows us to question Him. "Who am I, that I should try to answer God or even reason with Him?" Job 9:14. But Job goes ahead and has his words with God! God sets him straight in the end, but He let Job speak. We serve that same God. Just try to grasp the intensity of that...I don't think I am quite able to. It's one reason Life is such and Adventure!
Blessings <3
Treasures of the Old Testament
It has been nearly a year since I have posted a blog. What was intended to be a summer project each year ended up being only one summer. But seeing as how I'm a poor, struggling college kid I am hoping that there will be some understanding offered up to me :) I have been trying to read through the Bible this year. Every time I attempt it, I can never get through the Old Testament. This year, however, God has granted me such grace and insight to some really beautiful verses in the Old Testament. Take, for example, Deuteronomy 4:7. It says, "What nation is there so great, who has a God so near to them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for?" Our God is near to us in all that we do, He is involved in our life and concerned about our wants, needs, and desires. No other religion can claim that!
I do not know how well I will be able to keep up with it, but my plan is to share with you every so often some of the wonderful verses of the Old Testament. It is often said that the "God of the Old Testament" seems very different from the "God of the New Testament." But I can tell you that it is the same God who wrote each one! It is the same God who shows justice and wrath in the Old Testament who requires an ultimate sacrifice for humanity's sins in the New Testament. It is the same God who grants forgiveness and guidance in the Old Testament who offers His very own son for our forgiveness and supplies the Holy Spirit for our guidance in the New.
I do not know how well I will be able to keep up with it, but my plan is to share with you every so often some of the wonderful verses of the Old Testament. It is often said that the "God of the Old Testament" seems very different from the "God of the New Testament." But I can tell you that it is the same God who wrote each one! It is the same God who shows justice and wrath in the Old Testament who requires an ultimate sacrifice for humanity's sins in the New Testament. It is the same God who grants forgiveness and guidance in the Old Testament who offers His very own son for our forgiveness and supplies the Holy Spirit for our guidance in the New.
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