"But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins" All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"- which means, "God with us".
Matthew 1:20-23
When my presence was made known to your heart, you were a bit uneasy, but you were happy. You were changed. You kept me to yourself at first. But soon I grew bigger and stronger. I could hear you, I loved you and you loved me. The more I grew the bigger the love became. Sometimes we disagreed, but I still cared for you and you cared for me. Soon my presence was obvious to everyone in your life. You talked about me all the time. You talked to me and kept me close to your heart. You would never again be the same person you were, because of me.
Much like a new birth, Jesus says, "anticipate me. Let me come into your heart and never let me go. Talk with me, cherish me. Your life will be changed and you will have peace. Share my presence with those around you. " God can work with the smallest of faith and transform your life!
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Ihave had a lot on my mind lately. Finals are next week and the chance I may have to say goodbye to my home away from home is daunting. I hate that the one place where I feel happiest is where I have to leave. I'm really trying to seek God's plan for my life, but I am dreading the next few months. I know I will be coming back, but I am nervous about the future. The plan I have for my life is being screwed up and tossed around, but God's plan for my life is perfectly aligned.
My campus has been through fire this semester. Death has become even more real to us as our main campus has lost 3 students, one alum, and 4 community members in the past year. Everywhere I go I hear of conflict between the students and it saddens my heart. Politics have overruled Christian morals for many students, but we will not lose our fight against Satan's attempts to shoot us down. I don't understand why there has been so much arguing concentrated in this time period. Why are we resorting to slandering each other, degrading each other, and telling crude jokes? We are not perfect humans and we never will be. But we need God so much right now.
I just get so angry because I see people doing things that aren't right and I want to speak up. Often times I run it through in my head and then chicken out. Then I tell myself it's not a big deal and I should let people be people, no matter how much they annoy me. I wrote this as my status:
Where's the line between standing up for myself and just making a big deal out of nothing? I really hate to be one of the arguers that have plagued campus lately but when something makes me uncomfortable, I have to say something, right?"
I received a great deal of positive answers. Some said it depended on the situation. As Christians, we are called to be different, set apart from the world. I never stood up for myself, and I've always blamed the introversion in me. But I wonder if I'm really doing the right thing by walking away.
I've also been thinking about another issue that has affected our campus lately. I attend a private Christian university that is focused on leading students in their life based on the teachings of the Bible and Jesus' love. We have many rules other colleges do not-because we are called to be set apart. Many people are upset because of our inability to view R-rated films and play M rated video games without approval of the school. Recently, it has been strengthened by the restriction of PG-13 films. I really don't know what to think. Why have we chosen to make such an issue out of this? Movies can really affect us in both positive and negative ways. I can recall many films that have changed the way I see the world and have changed my thinking on certain issues. (Check out "Paradise Now".) There have also been movies that I wish I never would have seen because of how much garbage was involved. I'm a sucker for dramatic "chick-flicks". My favorites are Walk the Line, Where the Heart is, and A Walk to Remember" All three of these films display swearing and some form of sexual immorality. I believe it's a personal choice between each person what is right and what is wrong. Personally, I HATE cable television. It is so full of trash and sin that I chose not to have it in my dorm room. Yet, I am a hypocrite, because I can tolerate a few words and some bed lying because it's romantic. But it's all a false expectation. I fall into emotional impurity the more I see these films and tell myself "It's just a movie". What would happen if our students started loving each other more? What if they put away their video games and their movies and started soaking in God's truth?
Trailer for "Paradise Now"
God, calm our hearts. Give us an attitude of worship for you. Help us to love our brothers and sisters who disagree with us, and to not reject those who are not of our faith. Bring us together in love, and help us not to be divided by evil. Bring the joy of living in You to the surface as we face rough times.
Recently I was given a copy of The One Year Bible in NLT version. It has changed me so much in just the past week! Everyday I take a different part of the Bible in small pieces. I had been seeking a way to have quiet time with God each day, but it always felt overwhelming and frustrating. If you're like me, you have tried too many times to read the KJV front to back and get stuck somewhere in Numbers or Deuteronomy where the chronologies are listed. My daily quiet time with God has been my favorite time of the day. It is perfect for winding down, or getting up with the sun on Saturdays.
So, I've also been thinking about adoption a lot lately. God has really laid this on my heart as a great social injustice. I want Him to show me where to go, what to do, and how to do His works. Patience is definitely needed, because instead of schoolwork, all I want to do is read up on my interests and passions.
Also, materialism has come back to thought, seeing as how it's Holiday time again. I just hate having stuff! Like it bugs me how much I keep, and how much I really hate dragging it back and forth from home to school. On another note, Black Friday was insane! Why do people push and shove for something that won't last forever? This Christmas I gave my Mom a simple list. I want red nail polish, some mascara and eye liner, a back scratcher, and a bag of sweet and sour twizzlers. I also read on a friend's status that to keep Christmas shopping simple for her kids, there are four things you should buy:
1) Something they want
2) Something they need
3) Something they can wear
4) Something to read
What a creative way to help Jesus be our reason for the season instead of what we get or don't get.
"... He heals up the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He counts the number of the stars and calls them all by name ...His understanding is infinite."
I'm thankful for people. Today I have had a complete pinterest obsession, finding awesome ideas for my future classroom. I'm blown away at the creativity many people have and their willingness to share their ideas. I also went to Google and searched teacher blogs which are cool because I get to see what teachers around the country are doing, what's working, and what issues come up. I just want to skip college and get into teaching! I'm also thankful for my cousins. We are really close. I have 15 on my dad's side and we're all really close. They are always making me laugh or letting me confide in them when girl time is needed. I couldn't decide which photo was my favorite, so I'll post them all.
The famous Cousin table!
Sweetest and newest little one. :)
Goofin off in the truck bed (not hillbillies, I promise!)
Now's the time when some people break out the Christmas music. Personally, I get so much of it between Thanksgiving and Christmas it's the only time I listen to it and it's the only time I'm ever in the mood for it. It's also the time when I start organizing what I would like for Christmas. Well, I'm a big boring adult now and anything I put on my list is usually pretty pricey. Usually I get pretty excited still about what I'll get, only to realize hours after all the presents are opened, that I still feel the same amount of emptiness I did before, no matter if I get what I wanted or not. (Without being brag-tastic here), I have tried hard to live a life of simplicity. Material things are not important to me anymore. I still tell myself that it would be pretty stinkin' awesome if I had one of these on my hand:
It would also be completely wonderful if I had a lot more money. But money dissapears faster than popping bubbles, and eventually that Nook is going to break and be of no use to me. So, this Christmas, my simple prayer is that I (and others) would be able to cherish what we have, erase greed from our minds, and have the joy of Christ's birth in our hearts and heads. :)
It's been a rough time in my life lately. The past 3 months have been filled with sadness, worry, tears and dissapointment. I've often asked God, "Where are you?", but I see him. I see Him in my friends -who are willing to pray for me and reach out to me, even in the simplest of ways. They see what I don't ask for. Things like, an umbrella, lotion, food, encouraging cards in my mailbox. I see the way He answers even my simplest prayers like finding out where I put those much needed hairbands. This all may sound trivial, but to me, it shows He cares about the little things in my life as well as the not so little. It teaches me that I need to take one day at a time and pray without ceasing.
In sociology we were watching clips about poverty. My professor was talking about the fact that we push the statement, "It's their fault for messing up and putting themselves in poverty". I'm very torn on this subject for several reasons. While I agree that I should be independent from government assistance to survive (ie food, housing, clothing) the government has allowed me over others to attend university. I have said that I am poor, but now I feel as if I really can't say it that way anymore. I have opportunities that a lot of people do not have. (i.e. health care, housing, education) I was under the assumption that anyone could make a life for themselves if they went to college and worked their way out of poverty. Here's another catcher though: People make mistakes. I could easily be that person on the street someday. Does that mean as Christians we tell them to work hard and forget about them? And what about the children who have no choice to be poor? Because the truth is that we can sit around and point fingers all we want to, but poverty will still be an issue in this country, and around the world. But what can we do?
How do we speak (Christian) truth without being pushy and arrogant? How do I tell people I love they are making bad decisions without being critical? If we don't agree with someone, why can't we just say that we don't agree instead of arguing about it? I was very inspired by chapel yesterday. I'm not even sure where they found the guy giving his testimony, but I was inspired because he essentially gave up his whole life- his Jewish family, his financial stability, to come learn and share Jesus. He said to be crazy for God! So, I couldn't find the music video for the song, so it's a video done by a church's children's ministry, but we sing it for our kid's program.
