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| WOW. CRAZY. It's been 6 whole months....almost to the day...since i wrote in here. Um, update? I have really short hair, am a shift manager at Starbucks, have my own place with a friend from home of 8 years, teach piano lessons (and one drum lesson), play drums for church, am looking forward to my paid vacation time in January during which i'm flying to Seattle to hang with the peeps over there and listen to Mark Driscoll preach a couple times (hopefully he won't be on break!!) and reading good books as usual. Leave a note if you actually read this...HAHA!!! | | |
| Would people still see Christianity as just another religion if we put our faith where our mouth was? Would they see it as more than just a moral code and tradition is we treated the church as the family and body of Christ that it is, rather than just a building we go to, or a weekly or monthly event to keep us in line? My pastor mentioned a couple sundays ago that the Spirit would coat even our dumbest words in His power and use them to convict and resonate with the people we are witnessing too.....and i needed to hear that. Because God has given me a lot of influence and open doors right now, and the fear of pushing people away spiritually and personally with a wrong choice of words and bad timing is what keeps me from sharing. Who knows....some of these dear people could die next week, next year....heck, even i could. Does anyone take eternity seriously? God, help me not to be afraid to speak your name at work, to risk losing friends if i say your name. At the same time, keep equipping me to show supernatural patience, love, and wisdom to all the beautiful lost people you've placed in my life. | | |
| 1) Yesterday, as the pastor was reading John 17:14, the phrase, "for they are not of the world anymore than i am of the world" stuck out to me. Though we're still human, and relate to everyone on earth because of our humanness, jesus still says we're not of this world ANYMORE than HIM! hello, he's God. whoa...you'd think we'd be a little more "of the world" than him. 2) You always read about celebrities, or famous-in-whatever's, or CEO's, or the Rich & Busy say they finally realized what was important around age 50...that is, cutting back at work, making less movies, picking and choosing so they can be with their kids, read a book, hang out with their spouse, have time for a vacation or that hobby they've always been passionate about. That, in conjunction with verses such as: Ecc 12: 1 ("Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come....), Mat 6:24 (...You cannot serve both God and Money), and Col 2:8 (See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.) ....... i want to figure this out now, though even in our day to day activities, it's hard to sift through what we grew up thinking was important (human tradition and basic principles of this world)..from how Jesus would really live our lives if he were us. For example, though i need money, and don't want to settle in the midwest....relationships, a chance to make an impact for Christ through those, and simple joy from all the people around me are more important than living outside the midwest right now...or securing a more well-paying job as soon as i get outta school....i'll prolly have all the time in the world to do that. It's SO easy to feel i'm wasting time...but on the other hand, if we're made for God, then reading His word, praying, worshipping him, finding ways to increase others' joy and how to give, setting aside time to increase in wisdom and knowledge (bible studies, reading, whatever...), relationships, and excepting the JOY He wants to give us....should be ok. i just really wanna figure this out now, instead of when i'm 40 or 50 like so many people you read about.....i want to follow my passions now...and not be afraid to live life the way jesus would have me to NOW, i want to learn to give my money, time and resources NOW...because man, at this age, while i'm healthy, hopeful, have a lot of time, no family of my own, i have everything to give. | | |
| What an emotional day. It's Amanda's birthday, but since i asked off for work even before she did ("what else am i going to do? i might as well work!") i planned a surprise, fun, and relaxing day for her. Beginning with her first professional massage (1 hr./ full body) and ending with a movie. :) However, we had to put my 19 yr-old cat to sleep today due to rapid weakening, and i guess kidney failure. she stopped eating and drinking this week. Everyone cried at least once....it was definitely harder scooping her up and taking her to my dad's truck then coming home without her. It helped having Amanda's birthday to celebrate today....if i had had to work today..geesh. (hi...welcome to *sniff*..Starbucks. What can i ..*sniff*..get *snort*.for you?) haha:) | | |
| a more beautiful sky in my entire 22 yrs of life. I'm so glad i went off on my break to get my shift manager for the evening her dinner. While waiting for the food, i went back outside in the rain, and just stood in awe. It stormed off and on all day, and then we had tornado warnings/watches briefly. Towards evening, the sky got angrier and angrier, as clouds rushed along farther east...then the sun filled the angry gray sky with this GLORY...that looked like Hope personified.....and this bright, bold rainbow formed a perfect arch in the east. *sigh* Then to top off my evening at work, we "set up" the store for our poor friends who have to open the store on APRIL FOOL'S DAY. muhahah. i'm planning on stopping by on my way outta town tomorrow morning. We stacked the cups REALLY high, to where they look like giant tentacles. The chairs are stacked on the tables, there's a drink carrier perched on the highest ridge on all the windows, 4 timers (set a 30 seconds apart) are strategically placed, menu boards are upside down, and (my fav) little blue & red british flags (using dry erase markers) are placed on a few mirrors, windows, plexicubes, etc. That last one is due to the fact that i speak british all the time, to the chagrin of a lady i work with (and the joy of everyone else)...HAHA! and SHE works tomorrow morning. yeesssss.... aaaahhhh......life is beautiful. | | |
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