It's A Process.

Another Person’s Shoes.

Put yourself in someone else’s shoes. That’s what we are always told. But in reality, we often can’t do this until we are actually put in their shoes. And now, I have been on the other side. I have seen.

Let me rewind: At the beginning of this year, my boyfriend and I were discussing what was ahead for the semester. I was taking 18 hours, getting ready to graduate, taking all the graduation exams, doing an internship, and other ministry things. He works in the sports information department meaning in addition to his class load, his ministry work, and his family time, he would be consumed (almost every day) with baseball and softball games. We discussed having to be intentional with one another in both talking and making time. We jokingly said, “If we can just make it through this semester, we will be able to make it through anything!”

(Seriously, one day I am going to learn to quit saying things like that!) Little did we know what was ahead for our summers! He is doing a 10 week internship as a youth minister in Macon, GA. And I will be in Sarajevo, Bosnia for six of those weeks. Needless to say, the past semester prepared us for being intentional this summer. 

So what about those shoes?

When I left to head to Bosnia two years ago, I remember saying goodbye to my family and friends. Not a tear was shed. My heart was not even sad. And that was because I was so incredibly excited and ready to go where the Lord had called me. I knew without a doubt it was where I was supposed to be. And I was at complete peace. 

This weekend, I got to be on the other side of that goodbye. I had to say goodbye to the one who has been called, who only showed excitement and readiness, and who did not shed a tear. And wow, is it a different side of the spectrum. Mainly, it’s hard. I now see and understand where my loved ones were that day, and I feel like it has prepared me more for my goodbyes this time around. 

I am so proud of him and his obedience to the Lord’s call! I know these ten weeks will be life changing and full of learning. And I could not be more ready to leave for Bosnia! This summer is full of opportunities for and obedience to the Lord. And in the end every moment of it is for His glory and our good. I can speak for both of us- there is nothing we want more in our relationship than to be serving the Lord - even if it is difficult for us!

Goodbyes are hard. But they only last for a little while. Besides, what is ten weeks when you look at the whole picture? :)

Please keep both of us and our families in your prayers throughout the summer!

Male & Female He Created Them.

“When God created mankind, he made them in the likeness of God. He created them male and female and blessed them. And he named them “Mankind” when they were created.”
Genesis 5:1-2

And that is when it all started. The differences. He created us differently. And this has been an ongoing learning process for the last three years for me. I have learned that as females:

-We respond to situations differently than males.
-We react differently than males.
-We process through things differently than males.
-We are more emotional than males. 
-We understand things differently than males.
-Plus many, many more…

We are different!


But why does this matter? The topic has come up in conversation several times over the last week about it. But it has come up in a way that has made me begin to realize what has happened and how our views as women have changed.

Let me explain: If one is to cry, you are vulnerable. Show too much emotion, and you are simply being ridiculous. Let something affect you deeply, you’re taking it too seriously.

We have seen ourselves as women fall into believing the lie that emotions and tenderness show weakness. And that we cannot be seen as weak. We often even beat ourselves up for “being such a girl.” But we forget the beautiful picture created in Genesis 5! He created them- male and female! He created us differently. Both genders were created to reflect God’s image! 

And when you look at the various aspects of each gender that reflect God, we see many of those differences. Females- you were created to be a tender, emotional, nurturing being. And there is nothing wrong with that! Do not believe that this is wrong. Do not let the world tell us that we need to be as solid as the men. We were not created just like them and that is how God wanted it! Or he would not have created them- male and female.

It’s a beautiful picture, and we must not lose sight of our purpose of glorifying Christ through every ounce of our being - yes, even our emotional being.

Now, this does not give us an excuse to let our emotions rule our lives and interactions. “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” If our emotions are not in line with Christ, then we are not letting the Spirit lead and control them. 

Embrace being a female. You were created that way. You are in the image of God!

“Being tender and open in beautiful. As a woman, I feel continually shh’ed. Too sensitive. Too mushy. Too wishy washy. Blah blah. Don’t let someone steal your tenderness. Don’t allow the coldness and fear of others to tarnish your perfectly vulnerable beating heart. Nothing is more powerful than allowing yourself to be truly affected by things. Whether it’s a song, a stranger, a mountain, a rain drop, a tea kettle, an article, a sentence, a foot step, feel it all- look around you. All of this is for you. Take it and have gratitude. Give it and feel love.”
Zooey Deschanel

The Words.

Beautiful Words.

I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;
    he heard my cry for mercy.

Because he turned his ear to me,
    I will call on him as long as I live.

 The cords of death entangled me,
    the anguish of the grave came over me;
    I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
 Then I called on the name of the Lord:
    “Lord, save me!”

 The Lord is gracious and righteous;
    our God is full of compassion.

The Lord preserves the simple;
    when I was brought low, he saved me.

 Return to your rest, my soul,
    for the Lord has been good to you.

For you, Lord, have delivered me from death,
    my eyes from tears,
    my feet from stumbling,
 that I may walk before the Lord
    in the land of the living.

Psalm 116:1-9

Who’s Been Lying To You?

I finally did it. I finished my read-through of the Bible. Not gonna lie, it was rough- especially Exodus and Leviticus, whew! 

Now I do not say this as any accomplishment of my own. It is truly not that big of a deal to most people. I mean, most people have read the Bible all the way through. 

So why is it that I am excited about it / writing about it? Because of two reasons:

1. Someone challenged me about my beliefs and retorted with, “You believe in the words of a book that you haven’t even read all the way through so how do you even know what is in it?” Ouch. That was determination enough that I needed to know. I needed to see everything the Lord has to say. 
2. If we don’t know the Word, we don’t know who is lying to us. If we just take what our preachers, teachers, bible study leaders, etc say at face value without checking it against the Word, you can get into some trouble. It is always a good idea to go behind and double check. [To my D-Group girls- Go and check behind me!] And to be honest there were a couple of times that I was reading it that I became incredibly angry at what I had been taught and it was either completely wrong or completely out of context. So I cannot stress enough… Read it for yourself!

So basically it is my challenge to you. Do you know the Word for yourself? Are you seeking the Lord through His Word? Are you actively seeking truth in the Word, or just believing what others tell you?? Do you know what the Bible actually says to defend it?

Even if He doesn’t…

I can’t get this quote out of my head… Rex, a classmate of a good friend, was recently diagnosed with cancer. He is my age. Loves the Lord. A very talented musician. And all of a sudden, his life was changed. He was told cancer was in his body. He made a video of his testimony with the situation [I strongly encourage you to watch it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4JD43pS28k ]

But what gets me the most is one of the things he said in the video.

Because we know that if we pray for healing and He answers that and he does a miracle and heals my body and the cancer is just gone, we can point to Him and say, “He is Healer.” And if He doesn’t heal me, we can still point to Him and say, “He is Healer.” Because our God is constant and He doesn’t change … He gave up His life for me, the least I can do is suffer a little on this earth to bring glory to His name.

Man… What a challenge. 

We pray on a daily basis for our lives to simply bring Him glory- but often we do not realize the ways in which the Lord plans to bring that about.

But just as Rex is, we must look at everything through the lens of bringing Him glory.