Thursday, November 29, 2012

Where is He?

How far away is God for you? Is he right next to your side every step of the way? Or have you placed him in some far distant place you can't ever reach? For so long I felt like God never bothered to show up in my life. I now know that is because I chose to place him far away and run the other direction. It was all on me. God didn't remove himself from my life so he could take a break and watch me struggle from afar. I made the decision, and lacked the desire to keep God close and establish a more intimate relationship with him.
From the very beginning WE are the ones who flee. Not God. In Genesis 3:8 Adam and Eve hid themselves from the Lord. It was their decision to hide. So, we cannot say "God isn't here" or "he didn't show up", reality is, He is with us every day through everything. We have just placed him so far away that we can't feel his presence or experience his power. So many things can keep us from experiencing that divine power. I know personally that I am selfish and allow my pride to get in the way. I decide that I am plenty strong to handle  something on my own and push God out of the way. When I fail, which I always do in that instance, I blame God and become angry at him for "not being there", which is selfish. I want more than anything to have a more real and intimate relationship with the Lord. But it is all on us. Like I have mentioned before Christianity is a point not a process. Each day requires discipline to have a quite time and sit and meditate in God's presence. Prayer is another way to build that relationship. The more we pray the more chances you give God to respond. God LOVES to hear our voice. I am currently trying to spend more time in prayer. It is amazing what I learn from being in solitude and taking the time to feel God's presence and watch him work in my life. My goal is going to detach myself from all things that distract me, and attach myself to Godly thoughts, concepts, and lessons. Through this discipline I hope to become even closer and grow even more in my relationship with God, so that I can begin to experience his power in my life.

Boy Meets Girl

Relationships. We all want one. But do we really know what a truly pure and God honoring one looks like? I know I did not! Thankfully Adam Donyes knows a thing or two and was nice enough to share some of this knowledge with the rest of us! Adam had so many awesome things to share, I had a top few that really stood out that I want to share with all of you!
First things first. Girls are treasures. Sorry boys, but we are. Treasures are meant to be hunted. Boys, that's where y'all come in. Y'all are the treasure hunters! Girls, TREASURES DON'T DO THE HUNTING. Have you ever seen a diamond going after the treasure hunter....your answer should be no because that is just stupid anyways! The boy needs to be the leader in all things, that begins by taking the lead and pursuing you, not the other way around. Make sense?
So now this boy has stepped up and made the decision to pursue you, now what? What is the point of dating? The entire purpose of dating is to find the person you are going to spend the rest of your life with. Plain and simple. So why would you waste your time with a boy that is a God fearing man? Personally I don't think we will ever know the answer to that question...if they don't love their master, they won't ever be able to love you. Way too often girls and guys get way to caught up in dating. Often times the more we chase a relationship with someone, the less we chase Christ. Our relationship with others should be an overflow of our relationship with Christ. Hebrews 12:1-2 talks about running with endurance the race set before us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus. When you are running hard after the cross and completely focused on Him and fulfilling His will for your life, you will be able to look to your side and see a boy just as in love with God as you are. That is who you want to date. Because that is who you want to marry. Not some schmuck you have to drag along that slows you down on your race to the cross.
Relationships should increase your relationship with God. So when you look at a boy think about what he has to offer. Does  he love Jesus? Is he constantly growing a spending time with God? Does he love like Him? These are what Donyes called "non-negotiables". I took the time to write down what my non-negotiables are. Having these written down will help you keep your standards high! Don't settle, hold out for proven character, NOT potential. The "projects" are not going to help you grow if you are having to help them grow. The man I marry will not be potential. I have made a promise to myself and God that I will be faithful and trust that when God sees fit he will send me an incredible God fearing man for me to marry. 

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Urban Entry follow up


This is a blog post I wrote for Link Year's website, so I thought I would share it with all of you! Enjoy! I also attatched a picture of all the us in the church we cleaned out!
Last week Link Year had the privilege to volunteer at the Hope Center located in the inner parts of Kansas City. I have never participated in work like this before, so personally I was very excited! There are many benefits to volunteering in the inner cities. You have the opportunity to touch so many lives and encourage so many people. I never even considered the benefits volunteering can offer me. The second day we were in KC the staff told us they had prepared lunch for us. This was a relief because all of our other meals had to be purchased using tickets that we were given! So a free meal had never sounded better! We got into our family groups and were told to draw a piece of paper from a bowl. Each piece of paper had a 1, 2, or 3 written on it. My group was the only group with a number one, so we went first. Adam walked us into the room, and as we entered I noticed three different set ups. On one table there was all you can eat Chickfila, another area of couches with plates of pb & j, and on the floor were two big bowls of rice and beans. My group drew #1 so we were directed towards the chickfila table! Awesome right? Out of all the food choices chickfila was the best one, so we got lucky! Or so I thought… We sit down and immediately are waited on hand foot by the link year staff. It was sort of awkward but I got to eat chickfila so I dealt with it. I loaded my plate with nuggets and was just about to stuff my face when the second group walked in. When I saw their faces of disappointment and anger, I felt uncomfortable eating in front of them. And that feeling only got worse when the third group came in and saw their community bowl of rice and beans. At that point I was told that I couldn’t share the surplus of nuggets, and I was facing out where I could see everyone watch me eat. It’s safe to say that this illustration was starting to set in. As I watched the other groups eat, I began to realize that this is how our world works every day. It’s so easy to not think about the starving less privileged families when they aren’t right in front of your face. But when those circumstances are happening in the same room it begins to hit home. I know have a whole new view on how our society works and how I can help change it. 



Thursday, November 8, 2012

Urban Entry



This past week was unforgettable. As a class we took a road trip to Kansas City and did some inner city mission work! We stayed at the K-life houses and each day we drove in to work at the Hope Center. We began our first day with a tour of the “hood” (for lack of a better word). The leader of the Hope Center took us past his house and gave us a run down on what life in that area looks like. He had story after story and each one was more tragic than the next. It’s hard to wrap your mind around how these people live. For us, our lives seem so normal and routine, but for these people gun shots and sirens are a part of their routine. It’s sad that it takes being put into their world to feel the need to do something to help.
After our tour we went back to the Hope Center and helped them clean out an old church next door. This was such a fun experience! All 32 of us working together to complete one task. The true colors come out. I really got to see everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. It was so fun to run back and forth from the dumpsters to the church! Everywhere I turned people were encouraging each other! It was fantastic! A job that would have taken months took us two afternoons! Its crazy how much work you can get done when you all work together and encourage one another!

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Get In The Word

How much time do you spend in God's word each day? For me the answer is not enough. I bet the answer  is the same for many of you as well. This is nothing to be ashamed of!! Romans 3:23 says "for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." Christianity is not a point, its a process! You don't just work really hard and eventually reach some point of perfection! Everyday we should wake up  and be fueled with a desire to know God more and more! But how can we do this is if we are not spending time in His word? 
Today in class our speaker was Keith Chancey. He was incredible!! Keith has an amazing ability to get you fired up and excited about God and the truth He has for us! We spent 3 hours on Genesis chapter 1,2, and 3. If you break that down, we basically spent about an hour on each chapter. AN HOUR! It amazed me how much you can learn from one verse if you really take the time to unpack it and see what it is really saying to you! The first three chapters of Genesis are all about the creation of the earth. We all have read through Genesis at one point or another right? For me its just always been the "book about creation". I never thought I could really learn anything from Genesis other than "God created the heavens and the earth." After hearing what Keith had to say about the chapters really showed me that a verse can mean so much more if you take the time to meditate on it. I love this about God! He has put little nuggets of wisdom all over the Bible for us to find, but unless we take the time and put in the effort to study His word, we won't find them! It's a daily challenge that we can choose to accept. I pray that every morning I awake and choose to whole heartedly follow the Lord, and study His word with an open heart so that I may see what he has in store for me that day! Following God can be so fun and exciting if you GET IN THE WORD and allow him to reveal things to you that you never would have seen yourself!