Endings are usually sad.

Today, I realized that I have to graduate in one year. What is normally a joyous celebration for a high school student is a traumatizing one for a college student. I realize that I have a while, but the hyperventilation is real. SO REAL... AH! Okay, recent thoughts:

-Holy poo. You mean, I have to pay for stuff?!
-JOB! I have to FIND A JOB???
-I still want a pony, how is it that I'm 21?
-I finally found the perfect Margarita, now I have to move... wa waaa.
-Hey, economy, pick it up a little. I need a job...
-Hey, Jesus, burning bush? Road map? Something?

So in the next 13 months I will decide several things:

1. What do I want to be when I grow up?
2. Where do I want to live?
3. Roommate or no roommate?

Among other things... but, like a friend once said, not knowing is half the fun, right? :)

Challah.
mh

Sovereign God

We're going through Joshua right now... well, hitting some lessons in Joshua (it's sort of a big one...) and this morning was particularly interesting to me. We talked about obedience, using Joshua 6&7. Basically obedience being an act of worship and the fruit of worship and God being glorified through our obedience. I love the picture of those that are passionately following Christ to choose Him when they are hurting. "God is enough... You are the strength of my heart." This world fails us, but we are obedient to God and He is faithful. AWESOME, and I mean be in AWE of God.

The part that hit me was this, and it's paraphrased a little:
It may not be my plan, but it is God's plan. He is doing it by His pleasure to make His name great, not my own. This might not be how I would do it, but it's how God is doing it - for His glory.

Praise God for being faithful.

This was sort of stream of conscientiousness...Oh and, I know I told you a funny post was coming, AK... but... you're gonna have to deal a little longer, sweet thing. ;)

Strong and Courageous. Do Not Be Afraid.

God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. -John Piper.

It's not about what I have. It is completely about the relationship I have with Jesus.

When was the last time you stopped and thought, "Jesus is the most satisfying part of my life. He is the strength of my heart. I desire nothing above Him"?

Psalm 73:25-26
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

What if we all die to ourselves and are made ALIVE in CHRIST? How different would our world look? Let Jesus get a hold of your life. Let Him shake things up for you. Let Him be in control. Let God be the author and perfecter. The Maker of the universe is concerned with the smallest detail of your life. He is intricately involved with every step that you take. He loves you that much. Be obedient. Choose God. Choose life. What are you living for if you aren't living for Christ? What's the point if you're only living to die? What if you started living for Christ? Daily gave Him your whole life... how radically different would your life be?

Love. Peace. Life.

Yes, I'm certain that it happens all the time.

Leave.

I want to challenge you. Stop letting life just happen to you and around you. Waiting for the perfect moment for something and waiting for the perfect circumstance is sort of... fruitless. The perfect circumstances may never happen. The stars may never line up just like you think they should and God may not tell you in a burning bush, but good things are there and available. Sometimes they're inconvenient, but so worth it in the end. We were never promised ease, but I think in the end, when we get to sit on our porches and tell stories about the "good ol' days", it will all be worth it. The heartache and all. It all comes together to tell beautiful stories of who we are and who God is. If we let God get a hold of our box that we put our life in, let Him really shake it up, let Him do with it what He wants, how much more glorious will life be? SO MUCH! Sometimes, we look at things and think "Impossible." That's when God calls us to have courage. What if Joshua had though that the Battle of Jericho was impossible? What if Peter had thought walking onthe water was impossible? What if David waited until he thought the circumstances were perfect? What a beautiful picture of our God we have when all of these crazy things just come together. Just let God be God. He's better at it than we are, anyway...

Love. Peace. Life.

Jesus and Bubble Wrap.

So I randomly decided to go to the grocery store one weekend night. Well, I guess it wasn’t completely random since I didn’t have a lot in the way of food at my apartment and who shops during the week? So, I went to the grocery store. I needed some of the usual stuff – bread, milk, stuff to eat for dinner… I also needed some not usual stuff – packing tape and bubble wrap. So I picked up a roll of each, got my produce and went to check out. The bubble wrap is an awkward length so it didn’t quite fit into a bag and just sort of hung out. Cool. Well, I went outside and the wind had picked up and it was considerably colder than when I went it. So I had like seven bags on my arm and I started walking to my car, the next thing you know, the wind catches the bubble wrap and it’s off across the parking lot. Now, there is absolutely no way that I would chase down something in the parking lot (it’s also not normally an ENTIRE roll of bubble wrap), but I need this bubble wrap so I can ship some coffee to Maryland. I turned into that girl. The one who runs across the parking lot looking like a total dork trying to catch bubble wrap. I finally get the bubble wrap, look up to see if there’s anyone watching, realize I don’t really care, since I paid for the bubble wrap and it’s only right that I get to take it home and finally get to my car. I start driving home… Okay, I was totally already writing this in my head… so I was driving home and there’s this huge bolt of lightening and I think “God is SO AWESOME!”

Now you may ask, how in the world are these two things related, but don’t you worry, I have it under control. Let me explain:

We go through our lives, needing random things like bubble wrap for one reason or another. We feel like we need something for this or that. Then the wind catches it and we have to chase it down. We run through the parking lot. We look awkward. We try too hard. Then we finally have it on our possession, and we have to send it to Maryland! We worked so hard to have it for all of ten minutes! I feel like we do this with so many parts of our lives. In the process, we completely forget to CLING TO JESUS! And, really, that’s what we’re meant to do, right? We have this great and perfect love in front of us, and we want something else. We want that boy or girl. We want that trip. That job. Those friends. That degree. Instead of clinging to Jesus like our lives depend on it (because, let’s be honest, they do).