Running redeemed

After a nasty illness keeping me sick for a few months and a crazy schedule keeping me from a favorite hobby, I've finally been able to get back into the running routine.  And God, in His goodness, continues to teach me through this silly little hobby.

As I ran yesterday, I realized that for most of my life I've been a runner.  I've run from fear and shame and consequences and mistakes and conflict and pain.  Yet in yesterday's run, I realized that God has redeemed my running.  I no longer run from these things.  Rather, I run to showcase the strength that God has given me.  I run to defy limits, to do that which I once deemed impossible.  I run as a movement of worship, hymns of praise leaving my mouth with each stride.  I run with the purpose of prayer, speaking to my Papa about the people and places that I pass, asking that His will would be done.

What a mighty God we serve, friends!  I pray that He would bring redemption into your lives as He has mine.  I pray that He will use every aspect of your life to bring glory, honor, and praise to Himself.  May He be glorified this day!

My cup runnth over

This morning I had a rare moment of stillness and silence, a moment where my mind was free to reflect on the past year and hope for the year to come.  And in my reflections, I'm reminded yet again of how incredibly blessed I am.

This year, God has blessed me with an overwhelming amount of His truth.  He has reassured me of my identity in Him, taught me how He sees me, opened my eyes to His plan for the world and for my life, freed me from lies and shame.  I am blessed.

This year, God has surrounded me with incredible roommates; He's allowed me to live with three amazing women who speak truth into my life, encourage me, and fill me with laughter.  I'm so grateful that I live with people who will pray for me and who come to me with their requests.  I'm thankful for the conversations that we're able to have with one another about what God is doing in our lives, thankful for the way we're able to speak truth in love and encourage each other, thankful that we're able to wrestle through questions together.  I'm thankful that I can talk to them about anything, big or small.  I'm thankful for the love that with have for and the grace we have with each other.  I'm thankful for their support.  I love how much they make me laugh!  I love that our house is constantly filled with giggles and giddyness, filled with joy.  I love inside jokes that we have and the nicknames that we've given each other, love our crazy singing and silly voices.  I love the family roles we've given each other and how, as cliche as it sounds, they feel like family to me.  I am blessed.

This year, God has increased my gratitude for my family.  His has brought redemption and restoration to our ever growing family.  He has blessed me with the opportunity to spend quality time with my family, blessed me with the reality that we can be not only family but also friends.  He has blessed me with greater involvement in their lives and they in mine.  He has blessed us with evenings of laughter and time together.  He has blessed us with healing and truth.  I am blessed.

This year, God has blessed me with a godly man in my life.  He has use His as yet another vessel to speak truth, love, and grace in my life.  I'm grateful for a man who daily pushes me closer to God via his prayers, words, and actions.  I'm grateful for a man who seeks God above all else.  And I'm thankful for God's perfect plan in our relationship, for the crazy twists and turn that have brought and continue to bring us together.  I am blessed.

This year, I am thankful for the mentors God has blessed me with.  I feel incredibly blessed to have not one but several individuals who are willing to invest in my life.  I'm grateful for individuals who push me closer to God, give me their time, are patient and gracious with me, and lead me.  I am blessed.

This year, God has blessed me with sweet friendship.  He's opened my eyes to the jewel that it is to have so many people whom I've grown up with and still call friend, the people who, though life has brought us far from each other, remain close to each other in heart; friends who still seek to give me 5 minutes here and there or a shared cup of coffee as our schedules allow, friends whose connection runs deep as we seek God together and share all that He's doing and teaching us, friends who have stuck with me through thick and thin.  I am blessed.

This year, God has given me the opportunity to continue my education.  I feel incredibly blessed simply by the fact that God has given me a mind that works and allows me to learn.  I feel privileged to be able to obtain not only a bachelor's degree but also a master's degree.  Further, I feel amazingly privileged to be able to attend a university where God is center, a place where I get to study the Bible and learn more about God, a place where my professors care not only about my academics but also about my life goals and the plans that God has for me, a place where my professors will pray for me and understand that my life consists of much more than just school, a place where I'm encouraged by my classmates and able to discuss the major subjects of life with my peers, a place where much more than just my professional life is invested in.  I am blessed.

This year, God has blessed me with incredible opportunities professionally.  He gave me the gift of an open summer which allowed me to return to the camp I love and be amazed by His power and might; in returning to a place that feels like home, He allowed me to see the spiritual growth of so many that He's allowed me to watch grow up over the years; God's given me the privilege of watching a handful of young people who I love become amazing leaders.  He's allowed me to be used to speak power and truth into their lives.  In His perfect provision, God allowed me to watch over a Swedish princess for a few months.  He allowed me to show His love to this family, gave me the international experience I hoped for while staying close to home, taught me what it means to passionately pray for those who don't know Him, and to live out my faith.  He taught me the value of the little things, taught me that it's the little things that make the big difference.  He allowed me to get paid to do my passion: minister to children.  He allowed me serve the children of my church, to listen to them, to be amazed and challenged by the strength of their faith.  He even allowed me to teach them!  He allowed me to be someone who they could come to with their questions and praises.  He placed into my hands their physical and spiritual well being for a few hours each week.  Further, He allowed them to teach me about God's love and might, His mercy and favor.  Through them, I learned that God is not inhibited by age but can use anyone, even a child.  And God continued to blessed me professionally!  Recently, He allowed me to pursue a position that combines three of my passions: refugees, mentoring, and youth.  He has placed me in a job that allows me to serve the international community while still close to family and school, to invest in the lives of young people from all places of the world.  He's broken my heart for the atrocities of the world, given me a fire for His justice, taught me that He has empowered me to do things greater than I can even imagine.  He has utilized me to bring healing and hope.  He has given me a hunger to know, to learn, to seek His face and His will.  I am blessed.

This year, God has given me the freedom to worship Him with a community of other Christians.  He has given me a church that grows and challenges me, pushing me closer to Him.  He's given me a handful of women who invest in my life and show me what it means to be a strong, godly woman.  He's given me a small group with which I can share not only Christ but my very life.  He has taught me more than a simply webpage can hold through this group.  He has taught me about community and His intentions for the Church through their example.  He's taught me acceptance and communication and to stand up for myself.  He has taught me about love and grace.  I am blessed.

Mostly, this year God has revealed to me how great the gift of Christ truly is in my life.  He has shown me my own brokenness and sinfulness, my disgrace.  He's shown me His redemption and the power of Jesus Christ.  He has shown me the sacrifice that He has made because of His great love for me.  He has given me new life.  He has shown me the power, might, mercy, love, grace, joy, faithfulness, sovereignty, strength, wisdom, peace, kindness, goodness, gentleness, patience, and perfection that define His character.  He's taught me to trust Him more than I trust myself, taught me that His way is perfect and that His plan for my life is ever surprising and greater than I can even imagine.  He has taught me of His unconditional love and grace, of His heart for me.  I am so incredibly, amazingly, unbelievably blessed!

This season as I reflect, I realize that my cup runnth over with blessing.  I am blessed more than words can say!  And I thank God for that!  Words simply cannot adequately express my gratitude.

And so this Christmas season, I pray that God would open your eyes to His abundant blessing.  I pray that He will slam in your face His perfect provision and plan.  I pray that you would know how high and deep and wide and long His love is for YOU.  I pray that you would come to know Christ abundantly.  I pray that you would seek Him above all else.  I pray that you would come to know that goodness of our LORD and King.  Have a very merry Christmas everyone!

Grace

Grace.

This has become a catchphrase in the Christian world.  It is the foundation of our beliefs; we are redeemed not because of our own works but because of the grace of God alone (Ephesian 2:4-10).

And in its familiarity, I think grace has lost its meaning.  We've come to take grace for granted.  We expect God to forgive our every sin, expect Him to extend His favor to us, expect Him to accept us regardless of our actions.

We take God's gift for granted.  We forget that God has every right to remove His grace from us.  He has every right to call us guilty, for on our own accord, that's what we are.  He has every right to stop forgiving us, to say enough is enough, to say we've finally crossed the line.

God has every right to pour on us the judgment and wrath that we deserve.  Yet He chooses not to.  He chooses to extend His grace.  He chooses to give us the powerful and life changing gift of grace.

LORD, forgive us for taking Your grace for granted.  Forgive us for taking advantage of Your kindness and goodness.  Forgive us for acting like a spoiled child and demanding You give us good gifts.  Forgive us for not responding to Your gifts with gratitude.  Please open our eyes to the truth of what You've done for us; please help us feel the weight of Your gift.  Please teach us to approach Your grace humbly.  Thank You, LORD. 

Follower

At church this morning (yes, I realize this is the 3rd post that starts like that; apparently it was a big day for this kid at church this morning =)), we read through a passage that is quite familiar to me; we read through Matthew 16, focusing in on the verses that describe Peter's declaration of Christ, being appointed a leader in the Church, and then, a change in events, being rebuked by Jesus.  And though this passage is familiar, God used it to speak new truth into my life (praise God that His Word is Living and active).

Peter wasn't rebuked because he had ill intentions; like a good companion, he wanted to protect his friend.  Peter was rebuked because he had in mind the things of men and not the things of God (Matthew 16:23).  Peter was trying to direct Jesus, trying to tell Him what to do.

Being a Christ follower means just that: to follow Christ.  And following indicates that one walks BEHIND Christ; one seeks Christ to guide and direct oneself.  One asks Christ to take the lead.

As we talked through this idea, I felt convicted.  How often do I pray for my will to be done rather than first seeking God's plan?  My intentions are good: for a person to be healed or provided for, a conflict to be resolved, a relationship to be restored.  Yet God's ways are higher than ours; sometimes He allows suffering for His greater purpose (further, He promises that following Him will include suffering and even death; see Matthew 16:24-27) . Sometimes our common sense solutions fall short of the grandness of His plan.

LORD, forgive me for seeking my own way.  Forgive me for leaning on my own understanding.  Forgive me for trying to lead or walk beside You.  Forgive me not taking my rightful place behind You.  Papa, please teach me to follow You.  Teach me to trust Your plan entirely.  Teach me to surrender all to You.  Where You lead, LORD, in matters great or small, where You lead, I will follow.

Reign

I heard this song for the first time at church this morning, and it got me thinking.

God, what does it mean for You to reign?  Obviously You are God and are sovereign and powerful and in control of all things; You have the power and right to rule over all things.

Yet what does it look like to have a King whose subjects refuse to obey Him?  How does a King reign when His subjects do not do as He commands, when they don't follow His commands?

Because God, that's where I feel like we're at.  You are still on Your throne in Heaven, yet we sit here on Earth ignore Your direction.  We choose our own ways instead of Your way.

LORD, as I sing this song, I pray that its words would be fulfilled.  I pray that You would reign forever more.  More so, I pray that You would empower us let You reign in our lives; empower us to obey You, Papa.  Transform this world into a place where its subjects righteously seek Your word and long to obey You, a place where we joyfully submit to our King. Amen and amen!

Joy

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:4-7

At church this morning, we sang a song about rejoicing in the LORD, and this thought hit me:  because of what God has done for us, we have every reason to rejoice.

I'm not talking about praising God when life is going well.  I'm not talking about thanking God for the multitude of blessings that He pours out into my life every day.  

Rather, the magnitude of what God has done for us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross truly hit me.  I couldn't help but stand in awe of what this act alone means.  Even if God would take away every single other thing He has ever given me and left me with Christ alone, that would be more than enough.

Sit with that thought, dear friends.  Ruminate on it for awhile.  Let this idea that we so often take for granted truly transform your mind.  

As I do just that, I can't help but rejoice, can't help but sing, can't help but dance.  Look what my great God has done!  

Despite the trials and tribulations and heartaches and frustrations of this world, my God sent His only Son to die for me that I may have eternal life, that I may be redeemed, that my relationship with Yahweh may be restored.  

No matter what else is going on in my life, that in itself is more than enough to cause me to rejoice.  

Surely he took up our infirmities
    and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
    smitten by him, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.
Isaiah 53:4-5