Rejoice in Plans!

As with any blog, I am entirely incapable of keeping up regular entries.  The way I truly like to do it is to just type when there is something to type about.  Today there is something to type about.  Not today, but tomorrow, I have several friends going to Honduras (a country in South America) on a week-long mission trip.  I'm excited for them, and think that I'm really starting to hear my calling for this summer.  I'm not a camp counselor, going on foreign mission trips, or starting up an orphanage, but I can encourage all my friends who are called to do those amazing things this summer!  It has been a kind of slow realization, but the simplicity of it really struck me yesterday during the church send-off/prayer for the mission team.  I'm calling/writing/e-mailing all of those who need that home team support.  Whenever I was off gallavanting in my far away mission work and camp work, there was always someone (even if it really was just one) who would be a blessing to me, who was able to tell me even in the more discouraging times that God's plan for me was larger than this.  So yay!  It's finally my turn to be the encourager.  And here I thought I was going to lead a boring summer. 

It's funny how God will always put you in the situations that will cause the most growth (towards Him).  When I was younger, and afraid of going out of the country, I went out of the country on a mission trip.  When I didn't think I had the endurance for a whole summer of camp, I was a camp counselor.  Just when I'm crying out, "God use me in any way!" and expecting some far away mission trip, I stay home and pray and encourage. 

This is pretty exciting

The one about plans

I just want to say that God is good and His plans are too.

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."  Jeremiah 29:11

My God is not a god of chaos and He has good plans for each of his children :)

This past weekend a beach trip with my Sunday School class that I was really looking forward to got cancelled at the last minute.  I confess, I was pretty bummed about it.  But, as always, God had bigger plans for my weekend than I did.  As a result of being in town these past few days we have a new member in our Bible study/friend group, who's been praying for a while for a good group of Christians his own age to hang out with.  We also got to see an old singer-friend who's doing incredible things with her life!  I'm encouraged to say that her patience with God (which she demonstrated when I first met her over six years ago) has paid off and will continue to reap blessings in her life.  Her name is Cindy Johnson (www.cindyjohnson.org) and she is actually coming to my college in the fall for a concert!  After talking to her again, it helped me refocus my priorities and see the vastness of God's plans for me through the vastness of his plans for her.  She actually started as a pysch. major at my very school, but switched to music and moved to a school in Nashville as she felt God called her to do a ministry in music.  Sometimes it really helps to see people who've trusted in God through the hard times and came out better than okay. 

As if this weren't enough to prove God's greatness (much better than beach plans), I also got to work at Habitat for Humanity.  This doesn't really sound like such a big deal, but it turns out the lady's house we were working on is a friend of my mother's!  She and her little four-year-old boy even turned up at the site to help with their house.  Without knowing the connection of my mom, we all got along great.  She even invited my brother and I to her house-opening party.  So let's see... my beach plans vs. four great friendships and lasting ministry oppurtunities.  Yup, God knows what He's doing and he's got incredible plans for my life and your's! 

I know this isn't really a very serious let's-quote-verses-all-the-time entry, but I believe that God works as much in real life as he does in the scriptures.  He certainly has been showing Himself in some pretty real-life ways in my life lately and I want to share that with you. 

As always, comment and share back with me :)

Yea, but does it help me run the race?

Stop thinking about sin vs. not sin.  The better thing to ask yourself (instead of "is this sin?") is "Does it help me run the race?"

What are you eyes focused on?  Looking at the all-time classic example of keeping one's focus on God in Matthew 14:28-33 is Peter walking on water while keeping his eyes on Christ.  When he looks at the storm instead of Christ, he begins to sink.  I'm sure everyone who has heard their share of traditional sermons will remember how their preacher takes this Biblical story and derive from it the symbolism of keeping our spiritual eyes on God.  When we lose focus, we sink... in sin and confusion.  Don't be hindered... sin snares. 

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego kept faith in God, even when condemned to be burnt alive in a furnace for their refusal to worship other gods.  "If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O King (Nebuchadnezzar).  But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up."  Daniel 3:17-18  I love how they are not confident that God will save them, but that He is able to save them.  "Though He slay me, yet I will trust Him." 

Faith doesn't = Common sense

"Now faith is the realization of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."  Hebrews 11:1

This is my favorite verse on faith.  When I first discovered it (likely at the prompting of a youth pastor or Sunday School teacher), I wrote it everywhere so I could memorize this amazing verse.  For me, it was like finding the key to understanding Christianity.  A lot of my nonChristian friends had asked me in the past about my faith... but now I was ready with Scripture to back up what faith was, not just to me, but to everyone!  I would encourage you to do the same.  I wrote the verse on a wide rubber band and wore it for several weeks so everytime I looked at my wrist (which apparently is pretty often), I would see the verse and think about keeping my eyes focused on God during that day, that moment.  After the letters wore off of the rubber band, I wrote the verse on my mirror, and even on the cash register at work!  Wherever you are most during the day, it helps to have a constant reminder of what faith is... and how we should continue to keep our focus on God.

Settling for God's best

We, as Christians, shouldn't be willing to settle for anything less than God's best for us.  This was part of the sermon last Sunday that was directed towards the graduates.  It is a good message to spring into college or careers with, since all these hard "God-what-should-I-do?" decisions seem to come in abundance after you leave the nest.  Our pastor used these Biblical references for times when people settled for 2nd best (not what God wanted for them):

1) King Solomon's riches were raided; the golden sheilds were replaced with brass (cheap replacement).  1 Kings This may not seem terribly related until you read the five or so pages full of description of the how the Temple was built, each detail important and expensive, built to glorify God.  King Solomon began his reign by seeking God's best.  He built the Temple in Jerusalem according to how God specified, he put priorities on glorifying God, and things were going well.  Chapter 10 talks about how Solomon's wealth and kingdom is growing.  In the very next chapter (1 Kings 11), everything goes downhill.  It begins with Solomon intermarrying with foreign women (not such a bad thing, right?), goes into worship of idols, and by verse 9 God is rebuking Solomon.  This continues into the sins of Solomon's children (who were very messed up with incest and murder and whatnot) and even the plundering of the Temple- the holy place in the kingdom- by foreigners.  This is a pretty hard-handed example of what happens when you turn from God's best for you and settle for 2nd best.  For Solomon, this choice meant bringing idols into the city of God's chosen people, destroying his nation and his family. 

2) Esau gave up his entire inheritance for a bowl of stew.  Genesis 25:29-34  I thought this was easier to understand (without having to read before and behind too much).  He ruined his long-term wealth forever by giving into a temporary need of hunger and allowing himself to be tricked by his younger brother.  As the elder of the twins, he would have had the majority of his father's estate and rule over his brother.  Esau is discussed for only a small portion of the book of Genesis, but his younger brother Jacob goes on to find wives and becomes a legendary character in Israel's history and part of the lineage that Christ came from. 

Not settling for less than God's best has translated for modern day use (for me at least) by meaning what college I attend, what activities I'm involved in, what jobs I take, who my friends/dates/one day spouse are... all of these things should be left up to God's plan for me, not what I think is best.  What Solomon and Esau thought were the best at the moment ruined their lives.  This means being prayful about all things before the decision is made or before there is even a decision to make.  This means making God the focus in our lives, so that we can follow Him as our top priority and grow to see that God's best for us is really the best that there could be. 

As part of this whole idea of a God-centered blog- if you've read this, leave a comment to let me know you've read it and feedback/other ideas or questions are good too!

I'm ready for a God-filled summer!

Consider this entry like the introduction of a book that the author writes in order to best explain their purpose for writing the work and give any relevant background information.

Basic idea is this: A God-centered blog spot.  Maybe even eventually a community of bloggers who share on-line devotionals, ideas, Bible verses, etc.