I'll be leaving for Boston tomorrow. I'm excited. The whole trip kind of sprung up on me about three days ago. Great timing! I've known about it all semester, I think I may have even signed up for it last semester. I sound really invested, right?
It's odd, but I think this is a result of a lot of factors. For starters, I saw my summer going a whole lot differently than it is. For starters, I'm working the same job I did last summer, except this time, I don't really know what for. I'll be at Children's Hospital again, working in PT, however, that's my old major. Now I'm studying to be an English teacher and I guess I feel like I'm just spinning my wheels for a little extra cash this summer. The job is giving me experience, but not the right kind. Last summer it served it's purpose extremely well. It allowed me to see what PT was all about and get a feel for the kind of work I'd be doing if I chose to follow that path. I did not choose PT, and now I'm back just to file papers and wait for 4 o'clock to roll around. I trust and hope that their is a purpose for me going back instead of doing other things I would rather be doing,(mission work, babysitting, working at a camp...). I have to believe and hope that God has bigger plans for me than doing a monotonous job all summer.
On top of the job, there's jury duty, which is inching closer and closer each day. I don't want to do jury duty. I really don't want to do jury duty. Again, it's one of those things that I never foresaw in my summer planning and dealing with it will be a test for me. I know the Lord has this there for a reason as well, I just can't figure it out.
I want so badly to believe in my own heart and mind that God has put me in these situations this summer for specific reasons. I know, because I trust him that this is true, but it is difficult to truly understand and believe that. I wanted so badly to be away from home this summer. I wanted to push my limits and be challenged. I guess my picture of a challenge is different than God's. I just want to know that I am being used by Him this summer and not wasting my time. I want to know that I can make as big an impact staying here as my friends are doing work in Africa, Texas, D.C. and Cambodia. I hate the thought of being stagnant.
So I'm going to Boston, my one mission trip this summer. I know it will be great, and I'm hoping God will use me and the rest of the team in a mighty way, as only He can. And then I'll come home. I'll start my job and I'll serve jury duty. These things have no flash. They have nothing exciting or challenging on their surface, but God has me here and with God, anything is possible. I don't know what will happen, but I know that if I am faithful to bring Him with me daily, He will be faithful in doing the rest.
Peace
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Believing in His Efficiency
Coming to terms with all that I'm not and seeking to find what little in this lifetime I can about who God is. That is where my life is headed.
We have an eternal God. Me, my family of believers, and the vast world of unbelievers. We live under the sovereignty of an eternal and profoundly mighty God. I'm learning something about this one true God's character. He is trustworthy. He is trustworthy in the traditional sense...He listens to requests and pleas and answers them. He won't let you down. He is "most dependable" in the cosmic "who's who". He can be relied on. This I know...and this I've known from day one in bible school. He loves me. I can trust that.
Simple, yes, but something that could be cataclysmic to Satan's whole regime if we, as believers in this all-loving, trustworthy God, were to claim this truth in our lives. The rest of the world, the generalized "they" of unbelievers, would notice such life-altering, regime-crushing trust. Why? Because this populous of non-Christians in our world are wounded souls. They are individuals seeking--without realizing--the very thing we, as Christians, are blessed by grace to know: that we, grounded in faith in the one true and living God, can trust Him with our lives.
The world we live in is chaotic, cold, lonely, cruel, vile, teaming with sickness and evil, impoverished, and dark. Standing next to an unbeliever, a christian looks the same. There is no symbol we are forced to wear on our bodies. We are not required to wear our hair in any certain way. We don't speak in a different tongue. We experience the same emotions. By all observable standards, we are no different, except for one thing. God in us. He is distinguishable. He is our claim to fame, our only worth. Christ in us, the hope of glory. (Col. 1:27) He sets us apart. The one who calls us is faithful and he will do it. (1 Thes. 5:24) We must simply trust in our very faithful God.
God's trustworthiness means he is capable. His trustworthiness means he is in control. It means he can be counted on. Our reliance on God shows outwardly because in the hectic reality of this life, he is the calm amid the storm. He puts us in the eye of the spiraling messes around us, and others see and long for that kind of assurance. He is our sure-footing. He is our shield and defender. All these things, in analogous terms, we must trust in order for them to work.
Shields were used in battle because they were trusted to hold up against the sword of the enemy. Daily, we trust that the ground we walk on is stable enough to hold our weight. Children trust that their parents are highly capable of defending them against anything, seen or unseen, that might cause them harm. Trust is essential in all these circumstances, and our God is bigger than all of our circumstances.
Trustworthiness is definitive of who God is. Acknowledging this is foundational for us to be believers. The astounding idea is that this trait of our Lord is a fragment, a mere facet compared to the riches our God possesses; but before counting His many benefits we must first count on Him.
Peace
We have an eternal God. Me, my family of believers, and the vast world of unbelievers. We live under the sovereignty of an eternal and profoundly mighty God. I'm learning something about this one true God's character. He is trustworthy. He is trustworthy in the traditional sense...He listens to requests and pleas and answers them. He won't let you down. He is "most dependable" in the cosmic "who's who". He can be relied on. This I know...and this I've known from day one in bible school. He loves me. I can trust that.
Simple, yes, but something that could be cataclysmic to Satan's whole regime if we, as believers in this all-loving, trustworthy God, were to claim this truth in our lives. The rest of the world, the generalized "they" of unbelievers, would notice such life-altering, regime-crushing trust. Why? Because this populous of non-Christians in our world are wounded souls. They are individuals seeking--without realizing--the very thing we, as Christians, are blessed by grace to know: that we, grounded in faith in the one true and living God, can trust Him with our lives.
The world we live in is chaotic, cold, lonely, cruel, vile, teaming with sickness and evil, impoverished, and dark. Standing next to an unbeliever, a christian looks the same. There is no symbol we are forced to wear on our bodies. We are not required to wear our hair in any certain way. We don't speak in a different tongue. We experience the same emotions. By all observable standards, we are no different, except for one thing. God in us. He is distinguishable. He is our claim to fame, our only worth. Christ in us, the hope of glory. (Col. 1:27) He sets us apart. The one who calls us is faithful and he will do it. (1 Thes. 5:24) We must simply trust in our very faithful God.
God's trustworthiness means he is capable. His trustworthiness means he is in control. It means he can be counted on. Our reliance on God shows outwardly because in the hectic reality of this life, he is the calm amid the storm. He puts us in the eye of the spiraling messes around us, and others see and long for that kind of assurance. He is our sure-footing. He is our shield and defender. All these things, in analogous terms, we must trust in order for them to work.
Shields were used in battle because they were trusted to hold up against the sword of the enemy. Daily, we trust that the ground we walk on is stable enough to hold our weight. Children trust that their parents are highly capable of defending them against anything, seen or unseen, that might cause them harm. Trust is essential in all these circumstances, and our God is bigger than all of our circumstances.
Trustworthiness is definitive of who God is. Acknowledging this is foundational for us to be believers. The astounding idea is that this trait of our Lord is a fragment, a mere facet compared to the riches our God possesses; but before counting His many benefits we must first count on Him.
Peace
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
In the Good Old Summertime...
It's summertime. Always a time of possibility. I don't think I have ever respected summer as much as I have this summer and the last. College has made me crave summer break more than any other time in my life. I think it's the idea that before college, I knew summer meant no school, but I didn't really get away from an entire city for the whole summer. I pretty much stayed home and then went on some cool trips. Now, I get to go home, have a time of rest and renewal, then come back to school with a totally different outlook than I had the last semester. It's great stuff.
I've got my foot 7 days into the break and already I've experienced change. (And I thought this summer was going to kinda suck!)
1. Wisdom teeth...gone. Yeah, I have two deep, diva-like holes in the back of my mouth now. I have to use a giant curved-spout syringe to squirt out food matter. Yum! I do this after every meal. I also have to chop up everything into tiny, bite-size bits to be easily chewed and swallowed. No molar action at this juncture. Like I said, these holes are high maintenance. I've lost my appetite and will to live. Ok, the will to live thing is taking it too far, however, those first few moments coming down off the pain meds were pretty brutal. Anyway, they say these puppies'll heal over real nice, so we're waiting for that day of bliss.
2. I've been summoned. For what? Why, our old pal jury duty. Didn't think they could call students? Nah, they get us all, and they got me early. Hope it's criminal! (Fingers crossed)
Yeah, nothing too split-your-pants exciting to report, but there will be more.
Peace
I've got my foot 7 days into the break and already I've experienced change. (And I thought this summer was going to kinda suck!)
1. Wisdom teeth...gone. Yeah, I have two deep, diva-like holes in the back of my mouth now. I have to use a giant curved-spout syringe to squirt out food matter. Yum! I do this after every meal. I also have to chop up everything into tiny, bite-size bits to be easily chewed and swallowed. No molar action at this juncture. Like I said, these holes are high maintenance. I've lost my appetite and will to live. Ok, the will to live thing is taking it too far, however, those first few moments coming down off the pain meds were pretty brutal. Anyway, they say these puppies'll heal over real nice, so we're waiting for that day of bliss.
2. I've been summoned. For what? Why, our old pal jury duty. Didn't think they could call students? Nah, they get us all, and they got me early. Hope it's criminal! (Fingers crossed)
Yeah, nothing too split-your-pants exciting to report, but there will be more.
Peace
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
