Day 148: "A Great Reward"

Hebrews 10:35

Hebrews 10:35 ESV "Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward."

Day 146: "With You to Save You"

Jeremiah 30:10-11

Jeremiah 30:10-11 ESV "Then fear not, O Jacob my servant, declares the Lord, nor be dismayed, O Israel; for behold, I will save you from far away, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease, and none shall make him afraid. For I am with you to save you, declares the Lord; I will make a full end of all the nations among whom I scattered you, but of you I will not make a full end. I will discipline you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished."

Day 42: "He Was Looking to the Reward"

Hebrews 11:26-27

Hebrews 11: 26-27 (ESV) "He [Moses] considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible."

Day 30: "By Faith Moses"

Hebrews 11:23

Hebrews 11:23 (ESV) "By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict"

Day 21 - "Why Have You Deceived Me?"

1 Samuel 28:12-13

1 Samuel 28:12-13 "When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman said to Saul, 'Why have you deceived me? You are Saul.' The king said to her, 'Do not be afraid. What do you see?' And the woman said to Saul, 'I see a god coming up out of the earth.'”

The preface comes from 1 Samuel 28:5-6 ^"When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets."

The story that follows is a story of Saul going to a medium to try and bring Samuel's spirit up from the dead to try and get an answer from the Lord regarding what he should do about the Philistines. This resulted in him actually hearing from Samuel of his death the next day. The other unintended result from his mistrust of the Lord was this fear from the medium. She got involved in this story and it caused her great distress.

I take away one major thing from this story - Going about things, even possibly good things (i.e. discerning God's will) in the wrong way will hurt you and others.

Live in trust with Him and walk boldly today, friends.
-M.






 

Day 2: "You Who Fear Him"

Revelation 19:5

Revelation 19:5 ESV "And from the throne came a voice saying, 'Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.'”

This is the last verse in the Bible that talks about fearlessness/fearing God. We wanted to start off this new year with the bookends of Scripture to possibly see a bigger picture. The first verse, as we saw yesterday, was a promise to Abram that he would be protected by God and he could trust in Him. This final verse near the end of scripture comes from the context of right before Christ's triumphant return to earth when He will defeat Satan, sin, and death forever, then bring His people home for good in His new heaven and new earth. This is a call to those who fear Him, to praise Him no matter how "small or great" your praise would be. I choose to be in that group of the servants who fear the Lord through all my days, not just near the end of time, but in everything I do. When I fear God, no earthly fear has power over me.

What do you choose?

-M.

On Unfinished Stories, Death, and Chocolate Milk

                I got my first tattoo several weeks ago. A few days before I turned twenty. It says “unfinished” with three lines between the prefix and the word. Like this: “un///finished.” It’s a symbol for me of a few things: 1. My story is unfinished. I have more life left to live as long as my spirit breathes inside this body and I want to remember that if I’m still breathing, I still have a purpose. 2. God finished it all on the cross (tetelestai, gk. – “it is finished”). Hence the three lines for the three nails Jesus took. 3. Everyone else in this world is loved by God, and He finished it on the cross for them too, and while they still breathe, their story is unfinished too.

My tattoo was sort of a way of saying goodbye to my teenage years and whatever, but it really is important to me. I really do want that message to be permanent and visible to me for the rest of my life. I put it on the inside of my wrist so that I see it every single day. There is no way I can miss it without closing my eyes the whole freaking day or tying my hand up in a scarf or something. It’s visible and it’s there. I want to make every day count like it’s the last day of my life.

Over three months ago now, a Christian homeschool mom in my community shot and killed her 17 year old son, her 12 year old daughter, and then herself. I knew the kids and the mom. I had been in plays with the kids. The son was one of my brother’s best friends. I still can’t find words to explain the shock of knowing that all of it happened, because that's not something you ever want to read in just two or three sentences, let alone cope with. There's no way to romanticize a murder-suicide of a dear friend. I totally believe that mental illnesses are medical problems that need more awareness and treatment. No questions asked. I also think there are deep emotional and spiritual elements to them too in many ways that need awareness and care. This mom; she ended up deciding she wanted her story finished. She didn’t want to keep reading and see how it goes.

It’s even more heartbreaking because in books, you’d usually want to keep reading at the most scary part or the most dangerous part of the story. You want to find out where the hero wins the battle and where they overcome what is dragging them down. We like reading those stories. They are some of the most powerful and inspiring to us. 

We live day to day, though, and if we see no change, we project that onto our own future. That nothing is going to get better. This is how it is. I want to read my next page of my story right about now. It’s been a rollercoaster for a while. I’ve gone through long spiritual droughts. I’ve walked through emotional pain and emotional numbness. I have lived in isolation and wondering if I am going to see the next day. It didn’t work itself out in the short few sentences I just wrote, like you might think in a story. It’s been years of a process. I’m only 20. 

There is so much left of the story left to write. And I have chocolate milk in my fridge right now, so I want to pour myself a glass and enjoy it! And keep reading the story God’s writing in my life. I have so many things I’ve already learned and still have yet to learn. I’m all too aware of my defects and shortcomings and character flaws, but those are just some of the things that make me, well, me.

Oh, but don’t get it mixed up at this part. I’m not the main character. I’d like to think I am, but truly the main character is the author of this story, and that’s Jesus Christ. I believe that He is real and He works in my life. If you don’t, that’s okay, I’m not offended! I hope you’re not offended that I believe that, and act accordingly with that belief.

See, if God’s the main character, His story is still playing out too. And it’s so cool that His story includes us in, like, actually important ways. His story is unfinished, but the outcome will be the same because of the cross. He defeated sin and death and Satan and evil in general with two pieces of wood, three nails, a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and a sinless life. Oh, and a love that spans generations, that overlooks rejection, that ignores blame and slander, that breathes life into anything that even comes close to touching it, and that totally gives us all a second chance to live our lives – for His glory and our blessing.

I almost got a second tattoo when I went in to get my first one – a vine of flowers. They symbolize new life, and milestones I’ve gotten to. Maybe someday I’ll actually go and get it done, but I got really lightheaded twice during my first one and almost passed out. Character flaw, maybe? I don’t really care.

Read along if you’d like. The stories I post here are never very linear – they could include ramblings from really any point of inspiration in my life that I could care to share about. Sometimes they will be light and sometimes heavy, like life. Sometimes you’ll hear a poem in the making in the way I write, and other times I’ll be straight and to the point. Here’s the point I’m gonna make now. Don’t get this twisted: it’s not my story. It’s His. And I’m gonna write what He tells me to and I’ll write it for His glory, not mine.

The Semester in Review and Destressing 101

 

Hi again, my friends! M. here!

It's great to be back! Do you know why?? IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME!!!!! (happy dance) School's finally over and I'm beyond excited for the last 15 days of this year. (Yeah, only 15 days till 2016, guys. Buckle up!!)

I just had the craziest semester in my life. In the best way, I think. I started my true first year of college and it was a blast! There was definitely a lot of work, having 8 classes to shuffle every week along with Life group and Chapel and studying and homework and choir practice and work and... well it was just a crazy semester.

It was a crazy semester for another big reason besides school, though. In the past few months, I've really been growing closer to God. I've heard from Him in more tangible ways since September than I think I have my whole high school life! His call to follow Him with all of myself has never been clearer, and the presence of His grace in my daily walk with Him has never been sweeter.

That's one of the things I love so much about God. My relationship with Him doesn't grow in a linear way (nerd word alert!!) but it grows in an exponential way (slow down, there!) because we can always grow closer to God on this earth and we can always dig deeper into the riches of His love. I know He's always got more for me.

Take my stress levels for example. I think we all know that I'm like a joyful little bundle of stress!!! I carry it with me every day; I treat it like a beloved puppy, judging by how much attention I pay to it. Because there's so many things to stress about, right? I mean, there's stressing about the grade I'm gonna get on that homework I turned in yesterday or the random thing I said to that person last week or every time I've embarrassed myself in front of people EVER IN MY LIFE. This blog is full of regrets like that! And then there's today to stress about: does my face look weird? Does she think my shirt's ugly? Am I talking too much? Am I talking enough? Does anyone like me?? How am I going to get everything done today? And then there's stress about the future!!!! That's the best, because the options are limitless!!! What am I going to eat for lunch tomorrow? How much homework will I have next week? What presents am I going to get for my family for Christmas? What classes will I take next semester? What about summer break? What about after I graduate? Am I ever going to get married? WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN WITH MY LIFE???

You probably get the picture...

Stress is the easy way out. It's our human response to the unknown and uncontrollable. To be honest, it's really unproductive too. Ever heard that saying that worry is like a rocking chair; it won't get you anywhere but it'll give you something to do? That's definitely true when it comes to the things I stress about the most - they're usually the least important.

A friend is singing a song for her voice recital tomorrow called "Cecie's Lullaby." I'm playing piano and singing harmonies with her, and it's one of the few things that have been keeping me sane lately. The lyrics are from the perspective of God to one of His children:

"Call my name and I will listen

All you need is here inside arms

Just breathe and you'll be safe and sound

With me

No one knows you better than me

No one's been a better friend 

So rock-a-bye, baby, come and rest

You've been tired lately, lay your head down

Don't you think, baby, I know best

I've been a Father for a long time" 

Because I'm a foster sister, there's plenty of crying kids around. I know nap time and bed time especially can be stressful for babies, so the other day I held my two year old foster sister and sang her those words. And she screamed the whole time, but after another song she calmed down and fell asleep in my arms. There aren't many things in the world that can top that. But it got me to thinking about the whole rocking chair analogy.

Maybe you rocking in the rocking chair won't get you anywhere, but perhaps letting Him hold you and sing you to sleep is how he designed it. The stress isn't ours to worry about. It's His to handle.

How will you intentionally pursue God's rest this Christmas?

-M.

"That's Life"

Hey all! M. here again! Happy November to all of you!! How is your Thanksgiving week going? Tell me in the comments below!!

Today I want to talk about a saying that really really annoys me. (I know, it's brilliant to be complaining the week where we are supposed to be thankful!) I use this saying all the time, but I hate using it and I hate the idea behind it.

"That's life," we say.
When we lose a job or our microwave breaks, we sigh and say, "that's life."
When we're super busy or we don't get along with other people, we shrug it off and say, "that's life."
When we find flaws in our work or we have to start a project over, we grumble and say, "that's life."
When we have an impossible dream and lose our motivation, we quit and say, "that's life."
When wars and crises arise and we think our world's just gone down the drain, we say "that's life."
When it feels like God is distant and we're stuck on our own, we just say, "that's life."
And we move on.

Why do we have to say that? Why are we obligated to a mysterious fate called life? Yes, there are about two things we have guaranteed in this life, first, death; second, taxes! Yes, we can generally look at lives from the past to learn from their mistakes, predict possible outcomes, and maybe make better plans for the future.

But we aren't tied to that. We never have to be controlled by the outcome of a unknown lottery machine of future events. Isn't God the one who created life? Doesn't He have control over our future and over us? Jesus told us that He came to earth so that we might have life, and have it "to the full!" So why do we settle?

Because we're comfortable. We American Christians are so comfortable in our little Jesus boxes that we don't bother to dream the impossible. We don't care enough to look and see if this is really all there is to life. We rarely ask the Holy Spirit to be present in our lives every day. We don't expect God to move in miraculous ways for us. We don't hope for things like what happened in the apostles' stories in Acts to happen today. Because we're comfortable.

How comfortable are you? How okay are you with your life? When was the last time the Holy Spirit pointed out an attitude to change, a relationship to mend, an opportunity to give Him glory? Did you follow that call? Have you even heard His voice?

Living life to the full is like skydiving - you have to jump out of a plane that has a seat for you, a nice buckle to keep you in that seat, protection from the sun and the wind and the rain and the pull of gravity. You have no need to jump out. You have no need to use the dangerous route to get back to the ground. You can just ride the nice plane down to safety.

But you're not going to have much of a story when you get back to the ground if you never jumped out of that window. You're not going to have the thrill of falling, flying, hurtling down towards the planet unrestrained until at the last second you release the parachute.

It's the same way in our walk with Jesus. We could stay in our comfy churches with the seats we've picked out with protection from the elements of our broken world and the gravity of life's messes. We don't have to go do things to earn our salvation. We aren't obligated to take the dangerous route because "His grace abounds in our weakness." We can just ride the nice Christian life to heaven.

But you can't live life the way God designed you to when you're still inside the airplane! It's time to let go of following the status quo of "that's life." Because there really is more than the nice busy Christian life full of church services with plastic perfect people and life groups full of plastic perfect discussion and the rest of your life as the quiet, unoffensive office worker with a "Jesus loves you" sticker in your cubicle. There really is more to life than the loads of dishes and laundry and kids' noses and faces to clean and meals to prepare and arguments to interrupt. Oh, yes, that mundane still exists. Oh, yes, the trials and the failures and the car breakdowns and feeling distant from God won't go away. That's because we're human and our world is broken.

(But we're not just human beings. Our soul is eternal and will live forever in Christ's presence if we've accepted His salvation. I'm learning, too, that that soul isn't the only things that will live on. We will have eternal bodies in continuity with the old, but those bodies won't decay or become useless. What an exciting prospect! I can't wait for heaven. And seeing Jesus.)

When we are in eternity, I think I'd rather tell the story of how I went skydiving.

What about you?

There's no going back once you jump. But when it come to living God's life for you, you won't regret jumping.
You'll get the opportunity to truly be God's hands and feet for this broken world.
You might get to see God's presence tangibly changing lives and changing whole cultures.
Your heart attitude towards God might be personally transformed from the inside out.
You might be hated for your radical ideas. Jesus practically guarantees it.
You won't be comfortable. But you probably won't miss that comfortable life once you leave it.
You might live that impossible dream in spite of every voice that says it can't happen.
You'll have the chance to redefine what you call truly living.

You will be changed. And that's life. God's way.