Sunday, March 27, 2011

Examples and Life

I feel like I’ve been a really horrible person this past week. Example number one, being lazy; there are many, many things that I really desire to do, the list includes leaning to play the guitar, starting an exercise routine, reading more, writing more and just plain making better use of my time. The unfortunate fact of the matter is that as of late I have not been making any effort to do any of the wonderful things on that list up there, instead I’ve been making excuses to myself and just keep putting them off.

Example number two, being mean. This past week at work was really good, and kind of awful at the same time; I recently started working with a different group of people than I had been up until now, the new group that I now work with is great, I get along better with them, we talk a lot more and in general it’s been more fun, the one downside of our group connecting so well with each other and being able to joke around is that we’re pulling away from our other co-workers and talking about them behind their backs. I know its wrong and the past few days I felt convicted about it but I still couldn’t stop myself from continuing the jokes we started.

Example number three, being offended. Last weekend my mom and I talked over our budget, we’ve been wanting to move for some time now and were discussing what we needed to do to achieve said goal. A few days after our talk we found out our timeline had to be moved up due to circumstances beyond our control, its no big deal we were already trying to find the best option to move and it looks as though God is showing us exactly where we need to be, but if I’m completely honest it did not sit well with me when I heard the words you need to leave asap.

Example number four, being distant. I’ve been trying to pray all week, but all week I’ve felt really far away; like some part of me isn’t all there, my mind is distracted, my heart is out of focus and I just can’t seem to fully enter in. And when I think about the way I’ve been interacting with people it’s the same there too, if you were to ask me how I am, I would probably say “good”, it’s not a lie, but its not the full truth either, I just don’t know the words that need to be said and I don’t feel the pull to fully engage with the world right now.

But the true truth, the point that I’ve reached after writing this today, is that I may have acted horrible but that does not mean that I am a horrible person, rather I am simply a person; a flawed human being, who struggles sometimes and gives in to what we Christians call ‘flesh", but I’m more than that too, I am a child of God, a beloved daughter of the King of kings, I am a beautiful creation of God; fearfully and wonderfully made, I am a follower of Christ redeemed by His blood and nothing that I ever do can separate me from His love. At the end of the day I may still have battles to fight but I know who I am in God and nothing can change what that is.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

That Girl

“Want to know where your heart is? Watch where your mind goes when you daydream” one of my friends posted this on her facebook last week and it really made me think so I decided to write about it cause that’s what I do. I daydream more than I would like, and unfortunately the subject of said daydreams is not exactly what I want my heart to be focused on, its nothing bad just not what I would choose to be at the top of my priority list; its no place in particular, no specific adventure, not even a specific person per say, it’s simply an idealistic love story; meeting that one person God has picked out for me, and him telling me exactly what I’ve always wanted to hear. It’s silly really when I think about it, I mean daydreams sure, I want to fall in love no question about that but to say this is where my heart is, I’m not a fan.

 
I don’t want to be that girl, you know, the one who can’t function without the guy, or worse yet, the one who is so focused on finding “the one” she misses out on all the other awesomeness life has to offer. I think I can say for the most part I’m not her; I’m not going crazy looking for my husband; I trust God in that. I don’t need a guy to love me to be loved; God takes care of that one too. But some days, some days I feel like I’m still waiting for my life to start, like so much of my future involves another person I wonder how it is that I can decided where I’m going. On those days I become that girl, and when I think about it I’m not okay with that. I want to change those daydreams because that’s not where I want me heart to be, because when my heart’s there I miss out on all the other awesomeness my life has to offer.

 
So how do I do it; change these daydreams to something better, and stop thinking about the boy? I guess for starters I should decided where it is exactly I want to send my heart; I see a few good options, the top of the list including Guatemala, and other mission trips, music, books, writing and Jesus feet. I think I’ll go with the latter and focus on seeking God’s heart. In Matthew chapter 6 Jesus says not to worry about stuff or what will happen tomorrow (I’m paraphrasing) but to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” You see that’s where I want my heart to reside; I want to be that girl, you know, the one who is so caught up in following God, seeking His truth, and being in a relationship with Him that everyday is new; full of purpose and adventure. That everything is beautiful because God created it, and everyone is valuable because God loves them. And when the guy she has been waiting for enters her life God will still be her number one because it is God who holds her heart. Yeah, that’s more the type of girl I want to be.