Overwhelmed with Gratefulness

I've discovered a kind of love that I never knew could truly exist among people.

I sat in bed completely exhausted, but incapable of going to sleep because I was so overwhelmed by how amazing it feels to be loved unconditionally. Maybe I have experienced it in the human form in previous relationships but was just unaware...regardless, I was left stirring in bed, overcome with gratefulness.

God's been showing me what it means to love regardless of faults and without conditions. There is this immense amount of freedom in receiving that kind of love. There is also this urgency to pour out that same kind of love to others! I'm astounded by the way God provides people in our lives to teach us some of His most important lessons...

(I initially said 'most important lessons'-but are any of His lessons more heavily weighted than others....?)

Exploit

Today in Marketing and Communication teams presented an 'inappropriate' commercial and stated how it could have been redone with a Christian worldview. Being the only girl in the class it made me feel a tad uncomfortable, which is an understatement. However, it was interesting to see which groups chose what commercials. Some chose ones that were just purely funny and pushing the line of inappropriate, others chose down right raunchy.

I hate that media exploits a God-given natural desire. We kind of touched briefly on this in leadership class yesterday. We have learned since a young age that sex=bad. So we associate those who have sex before marriage with being bad, which is judgement. Media and the world have turned something that was so beautifully and intricately designed into something that is ungodly, erotic, and taken SO far out of its original context.

Why does television, movies, computers, etc take advantage of a God given desire by exploiting way past its intended purpose? This is a rhetorical question....answers would probably frustrate me further..

Guilty As Charged

This article is where I am at. I am a people pleaser and when I lose perspective I do it out of my own selfish ambitions rather than to bring God glory.

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/deeper-walk/blog/1412-confessions-of-a-people-pleaser

At the end of the day I want to be able to ask myself, "have I done God's work?"

Link No Longer

P.S. I removed this from being linked with my facebook account for a few key reasons.

1. I blog a lot less when the potential audience that will be reached is anyone and everyone.

2. Selectivity gives me comfort for the time being.

God Moves When i Am Still

Constantly discontent, always looking for ways to improve, but for what purpose? To bring God glory, myself, to please others?

I so deeply desire certain things for different aspects of life. I think God deeply rooted those desires in my heart. So why then do I currently find myself analyzing my expectations and comparing them to reality and I have fallen short. I'm frustrated with where I am at. I yearn so deeply for God to move and be prevalent but sometimes I forget to give Him control. I forget to free up my 'busyness' so that He can move through me.

Currently my expectations have been thrown out the window and trampled on. God moves when I am still. This is a good place to be. I am ready, beyond ready, for Him to move.

Reflections of Time

When I near the end of something, I always have thoughts about how I could have done something better. Right now, I am figuring out ways I can be more influential with the time I have been given. I spend way too much time on selfish things that only benefit myself, time to step it up!

Christmas break will serve as a time of reflection. Any type of 'vacation' always allows for me to figure things out. Stepping away from the constant day to day schedule is a big deal for me. Life changing decisions or life altering decisions are always made when I get some time away from the norm.

Why? The routine is no longer there. Time is no longer filled and I can use the time I am given to my liking. More consistant and longer periods of time with God typically result...which is always going to result in some kind of life change.

Heard an interesting quote yesterday that I am not going to get exactly right but it went something along the lines of 'what if we stopped trying to apply the bible to our lives and we are started applying our lives to the bible'...

Tainted

Still processing, probably always will be, so this might not be a complete thought.

Too much of a good thing is no longer good-it's tainted.

I'm a perfectionist, and right now I'm over it.

I Miss...

Trees...hiking...caving

Carson...my nephew...so expressive

Christmas=family

Crys and Reese...they're amazing.

Linds...you're such a blessing to me.

Sissys and momma

Amazing family.

.God is soooo good.

Grand Scheme of Life

...I try to keep this 'grand scheme of life' perspective. You probably haven't heard of it...I think I just made it up. Basically, little things seem like SUCH a big deal until you consider the grand scheme of life and all the time it encompasses. Example...failing a test. Seems devastating for a second, but when I keep this perspective of my whole life, it's really not that big of a deal. Nor does it have anything to do with God's kingdom.

I don't know, it helps me a lot, I hope it helps others!
<3 me

What Did You Read?

Most kids grew up reading books like 'Amelia Bedelia' and Dr. Seuss-my dad had me reading 'How to Win Friends and Influence People' and 'Rich Dad Poor Dad'.

Hmmm

The Flesh

Fighting the flesh is such a constant struggle, but it makes me appreciate God's grace that much more. So often it is easy to go about the day and do what I want or need to do. Then I remember how God has called me to live, not for myself but for Him-to bring Him glory. Often I want to react to situations in my flesh, get mad, condemn the person, but how is that living in the image of Christ?

That is when God stops me, shuts me up, and tells me to spend some time with Him before I continue with my stupidity and fleshliness.

Another aspect of this though...it kills me when I hear people use their flesh/sin nature as an excuse. God has called us to a HIGHER standard of living. Yes, we are going to mess up, we aren't perfect. BUT repetitive sins are no longer a slip up, it's something more deeply engrained. There should be some level of improvement...

This all spurred from Gal 5-Lord I pray that this day wouldn't be lived for my benefit but for Yours.