I was driving in the car today and I almost missed my exit… well I thought I almost missed my exit. So I made a quick exit and did I mention it was raining? Well it was and it was obviously too quick of an exit because for the first time in my life I lost control of my car.
When it was happening I was very glad that I paid attention during that drivers education classes in the 9th grade and turned with the car not against it… or were you suppose to turn against? I don’t really know, but I turned with and the car came to a complete stop in the middle of the exit facing the wrong way.
This is not what I would call a slow traffic area, even though it was late, it was on the way to the airport. No cars. None, no cars were coming at me. I, of course, turn the car and went on my way.
The reason why this was strange to me is because even though this was the first time this had ever happened to me and I wasn’t scared. When I had turned the car around I said, “Thank you Jesus.”, in a calmly manner and kept going. Then as I continued on my journey I realized I really almost died, and I wasn’t scared. I wasn’t even shaking, yes I stopped and looked at my hands to check- even I was confused.
Why? Then I realized that I know where I would be going if I were to pass away. If it was really my time to go, which it wasn’t right then. “To live is Christ, and to die is gain”
Now trust me, I know I have a lot to learn in this life time- which again is why I am still here, only by the grace of God. However, I know who my Father is and I know for which side I am fighting.
The Lord has work for me to be doing here and I am so blessed to have found my calling and my purpose here on earth. If you were looking death in the face, could you look back without fear?
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Expectation
When we grow up as children we are told that we can do anything. We have dreams and hopes and expectations. Before school we have an imagination that could save that world in one night. As we get older and we go to school a whole new set of expectations are put on us. We are averaged and scaled according to our “ability”.
Over time the world view of teachers and bosses… friends are infringed on us and we become callused and sucked into this idea of “what things are suppose to be”. Sometimes…most of the time people become lost in this world where all you focus on is what we have, what fun we can have with it and we lost ourselves in the flow of things.
Have you ever taken time to just sit back and think about who you are really are? What you really care about? What you believed before the world told you it was impossible?
Instead in most cases we keep searching for things that will get rid of that void that we feeling of insignificance, and many times people get stuck in that search: addictions, bad relationships… life ending situations.
When all we are doing is losing ourselves again… just in a different way…
Look out from your life and you will see that the thing that you are looking for, the feeling that you are chasing is much, much bigger than you. It’s the things around us, it’s the people God puts in our lives, it’s the chance to save the world- the feeling that after a long life of cynicism and dark worldviews has been killed and dismissed.
Don’t believe me? Think about the people who have lived a life of happiness, of joy; the people who are not chasing. What is different about them and you? They are seeking ways to change something that has been wronged or maybe just notice the girl they met that has low self esteem or helped someone find purpose- in turn finding their purpose.
What exactly do you have to lose if you have already lost yourself?
Over time the world view of teachers and bosses… friends are infringed on us and we become callused and sucked into this idea of “what things are suppose to be”. Sometimes…most of the time people become lost in this world where all you focus on is what we have, what fun we can have with it and we lost ourselves in the flow of things.
Have you ever taken time to just sit back and think about who you are really are? What you really care about? What you believed before the world told you it was impossible?
Instead in most cases we keep searching for things that will get rid of that void that we feeling of insignificance, and many times people get stuck in that search: addictions, bad relationships… life ending situations.
When all we are doing is losing ourselves again… just in a different way…
Look out from your life and you will see that the thing that you are looking for, the feeling that you are chasing is much, much bigger than you. It’s the things around us, it’s the people God puts in our lives, it’s the chance to save the world- the feeling that after a long life of cynicism and dark worldviews has been killed and dismissed.
Don’t believe me? Think about the people who have lived a life of happiness, of joy; the people who are not chasing. What is different about them and you? They are seeking ways to change something that has been wronged or maybe just notice the girl they met that has low self esteem or helped someone find purpose- in turn finding their purpose.
What exactly do you have to lose if you have already lost yourself?
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Be like the moon, reflect the Son
Lately I have been really busy- as you can probably tell, I up dated more when I was at camp than I have since I have been home. I started working with this apartment complex. I give 60-80 hours of volunteer time a month and they will pay for me to live at the complex. This is one of the biggest complexes in Memphis. The people...are okay and the attendants, people who live there, are busy- like the rest of the world. To me, October has been the busiest month ever- I will dread this time next year.
There have been a lot of things that happened this month that have been great and others that have not been so great... The good things have been BIG and the bad things have been fairly small- but there have been a good number of the small... haha
The complex is volunteer, but it is also a ministry started by my sister church. The purpose from the church prospective is outreach, which is right up my ally. I believe in out reach and I believed in this Ministry. I had prayed about it and I believed this was where the Lord wanted me.
Now that I am here I am starting to question motives and seriousness of this "ministry". I have since learned that the Apartment complex uses the service of the church member just to have events and to make themselves look good. Not surprising, that is the way that business works and it’s not like we, as a church, are not benefiting as well.
Then we get to the church. The church has decided that this form of outreach is not “good enough” and they would like to have other forms of outreach. If you know me, you know that I do not think there could be enough outreach in the world. And I think that a church should have more than one form of outreach, including something to do with the Global community. I am not, however, a person that is okay with just dropping a ministry for “something better”. I like to finish things through, I like to make sure that when I am done with something, anything, it is better than before and the Lord is happy with the way that it was handled and completed. Many times I believe that people forget that God has an order to the way He wants things done for Him. Being a Christian is a full time job, with struggles and benefits; so often people only want the benefits.
I read a quote…somewhere... that stated everything we go through in life is transforming us into the likeness of Christ- something we got through for his name sake. So if you walk away from something that you know the Lord wants you to do, or something He did not give you permission to walk away from, you are really walking away from the opportunity to be transformed into His likeness. “God , I like You, but you’re not worth all that…”
“One of the reasons we are not as Christ- centered and cross saturated as we should be is that we have not realized that everything- everything good and everything that turns out for good of His redeemed children- was purchased with by the death of Christ for her.”
John Piper Don’t Waste your Life
So yes, I know what you’re thinking, or at least if I were you what I would be thinking. That quote applies to you too, yea it’s hard- but why are you complaining. I needed to vent and trust me, I know that the things that I am involved in right now are hard because I am actively doing God’s work and being transformed to the likeness if the Son. Which I was warned is like Iron sharpening Iron and Glass going through the shaping fire.
Don’t forget to check the Mirror sometimes- Are you reflecting Greatness?
There have been a lot of things that happened this month that have been great and others that have not been so great... The good things have been BIG and the bad things have been fairly small- but there have been a good number of the small... haha
The complex is volunteer, but it is also a ministry started by my sister church. The purpose from the church prospective is outreach, which is right up my ally. I believe in out reach and I believed in this Ministry. I had prayed about it and I believed this was where the Lord wanted me.
Now that I am here I am starting to question motives and seriousness of this "ministry". I have since learned that the Apartment complex uses the service of the church member just to have events and to make themselves look good. Not surprising, that is the way that business works and it’s not like we, as a church, are not benefiting as well.
Then we get to the church. The church has decided that this form of outreach is not “good enough” and they would like to have other forms of outreach. If you know me, you know that I do not think there could be enough outreach in the world. And I think that a church should have more than one form of outreach, including something to do with the Global community. I am not, however, a person that is okay with just dropping a ministry for “something better”. I like to finish things through, I like to make sure that when I am done with something, anything, it is better than before and the Lord is happy with the way that it was handled and completed. Many times I believe that people forget that God has an order to the way He wants things done for Him. Being a Christian is a full time job, with struggles and benefits; so often people only want the benefits.
I read a quote…somewhere... that stated everything we go through in life is transforming us into the likeness of Christ- something we got through for his name sake. So if you walk away from something that you know the Lord wants you to do, or something He did not give you permission to walk away from, you are really walking away from the opportunity to be transformed into His likeness. “God , I like You, but you’re not worth all that…”
“One of the reasons we are not as Christ- centered and cross saturated as we should be is that we have not realized that everything- everything good and everything that turns out for good of His redeemed children- was purchased with by the death of Christ for her.”
John Piper Don’t Waste your Life
So yes, I know what you’re thinking, or at least if I were you what I would be thinking. That quote applies to you too, yea it’s hard- but why are you complaining. I needed to vent and trust me, I know that the things that I am involved in right now are hard because I am actively doing God’s work and being transformed to the likeness if the Son. Which I was warned is like Iron sharpening Iron and Glass going through the shaping fire.
Don’t forget to check the Mirror sometimes- Are you reflecting Greatness?
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Enslaved
I am reading this new book called Enslaved. As you probably guessed, it is about slavery. Not in the forms that brought my kind over on a boat, but the kind that is taking place everyday, all around us,, that the average person doesn't even know about.
The book gives first hand stories of people that have been forced into Modern Day Slavery... servants, prostitution.. whatever. One story is called Slave in America. It's about this girl that ran away from home because she was under going much sexual and physical abuse at home and thought there would be anything better than the situation she was in... She soon found out that was not the case. She lived on the street for a long time, being shunned for being a homeless teen...yea, I didn't know people did that. I have never met a homeless teen and I surely wouldn't move to the other side of the street when I saw one coming- seriously?
After being homeless for awhile she bumped into this man that stopped and talked to her. Listened to her every problem and lured her into trusting her. Well, she soon found out that the man she trusted was a very bad person..did things to her that I cannot even imagine happening to someone. Much, much later her "owner" was arrested under unrelated charges in AZ, at which she was found bound in a closet. The police told her to shut up or she would be arrested too when she asked for a female cop..she wasn't even 18 yet. (And people wonder why the public hate cops...)
I am actively working to have these things stopped, but I still get overwhelmed sometimes that some helpless person is suffering because of the ignorance of the people around them.
I am ready for a change. One thing that helps me is Galatians 6:9 "And never grow weary of doing good, in due season you will reap, if you do not give up." Slavery will be ended I just have to keep following the passion the Lord has put in me and remember the victims that I am fighting for.
The book gives first hand stories of people that have been forced into Modern Day Slavery... servants, prostitution.. whatever. One story is called Slave in America. It's about this girl that ran away from home because she was under going much sexual and physical abuse at home and thought there would be anything better than the situation she was in... She soon found out that was not the case. She lived on the street for a long time, being shunned for being a homeless teen...yea, I didn't know people did that. I have never met a homeless teen and I surely wouldn't move to the other side of the street when I saw one coming- seriously?
After being homeless for awhile she bumped into this man that stopped and talked to her. Listened to her every problem and lured her into trusting her. Well, she soon found out that the man she trusted was a very bad person..did things to her that I cannot even imagine happening to someone. Much, much later her "owner" was arrested under unrelated charges in AZ, at which she was found bound in a closet. The police told her to shut up or she would be arrested too when she asked for a female cop..she wasn't even 18 yet. (And people wonder why the public hate cops...)
I am actively working to have these things stopped, but I still get overwhelmed sometimes that some helpless person is suffering because of the ignorance of the people around them.
I am ready for a change. One thing that helps me is Galatians 6:9 "And never grow weary of doing good, in due season you will reap, if you do not give up." Slavery will be ended I just have to keep following the passion the Lord has put in me and remember the victims that I am fighting for.
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