Crawling back in bed again,
soft cushioning embraces me.
I feel the coolness on my skin as I look to the other side.
The bed's still made there.
Maybe the bear will one day be a man.
Glancing at the window, I start to daydream
about my adult life,
starting my career,
finding my home,
enjoying the luxuries
and having found my man.
A man I can talk to on deep levels,
who is going somewhere because of his drive, intelligence, and talent,
someone with class.
On the verge of becoming, I ponder
the possibilities, the high life, and success.
I want to encourage personal growth, making use of my gifts for fulfillment,
and I desire my own relationship, deeply connected.
But for now I'll listen as my music plays,
taking in the songs that make me feel in love
soft ballads, smooth voices, and sensual overtones.
Life is so wonderful now and will continue to be
all as I blossom more, basking in God's glorious love.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
The Best Way to Spread God's Love Is Shining His Light Bright for all to See
In honor of Christmas, I thought I would share something in the vein of Christmas spirit. Who better expresses holiday cheer than Buddy the Elf from the movie Elf? I recently watched this with a friend of mine for our Christmas get-together. As the film progressed, I just kept thinking to myself how Buddy's innocent enthusiasm should be the same type of joy we constantly express for God and His creation.
As a young elf in school, buddy learns the Code of the Elves. It consists of the three guidelines that says,
"1) Treat every day like Christmas. 2) There's room for everyone on the nice list. 3) The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear." You could say that following similar guidelines would be beneficial for Christians. It would bring each person closer to God, which in turn allows them to outwardly share God's love, thus spreading the joy.
We too can treat every day like Christmas. Even when it is the Christmas season it seems like we all forget the wonder of Christ's birth and life. Somehow the idea has become so common that we seem numb to it. Yet we know the truths: Jesus was born of a miraculous birth, and He came to give us all salvation. In Luke 2:11, the angel tells the shepherds, "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." They go see Jesus, worship Him, and spread the news. We too are called to spread the Good News. After his resurrection, Jesus tells His apostles, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation" (Mark 16:15). Later on Acts 5:42 reads, "Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ." Obviously we have not interacted with Jesus physically and did not witness his resurrection, but we have received salvation through His death. We live in His mercy, and we can spread that grace as it is continually renewed.
The second part of the elves' code says, "There's room for everyone on the nice list." This guideline can easily correlate to evangelism and the idea that there is always room for more people in Heaven as part of God's adoptive family. Ephesians describes how in God's love for us, "he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding" (1:5-8). Joining God's eternal family provides more for us at which to wonder. Jesus' blood redeemed us, and in grace God adopts us into His family. As the end of the passage notes, God also bestows upon us wisdom and understanding. We should use these gifts, coupled with grace, to spread God's love, inviting other people into His eternal family.
However, it takes effort extend these invitations. Using Buddy as an example, you can see how his enthusiasm is received in most cases. People look at him like he's crazy and dismiss him or they return his joy with hostility. As Christians we will face similar reactions. Yet we shouldn't let that damper the brightness of God's light in us. He continually brings us joy, and we can keep letting that overflow so that others can benefit from it. Even a little friendly action can brighten someone's day. You never know when a simple smile at a person you pass on the street might make a difference in that life. Maybe you were the only one who showed friendly warmth to that individual. We never know how we plant seeds and how they will grow. Chapter nine in 2 Corinthians talks about sowing generously. A passage encourages us to do good for others because, "You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. this service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" (11-15). We should constantly seek ways to plant the seed for God's Word.
Finally, the best way to spread God's love is letting His light in us shine bright for all to see. Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12), and God "made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6b). We need to let that light shine brightly as we let God's love overflow in our everyday living, sharing it with everyone we encounter. Buddy happily declares, "I'm in love! I'm in love! I'm in love, and I don't care who knows it!" It should be that evident through our expressions and behaviors that we are deeply in love with God and want the world to know it.
As a young elf in school, buddy learns the Code of the Elves. It consists of the three guidelines that says,
"1) Treat every day like Christmas. 2) There's room for everyone on the nice list. 3) The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear." You could say that following similar guidelines would be beneficial for Christians. It would bring each person closer to God, which in turn allows them to outwardly share God's love, thus spreading the joy.
We too can treat every day like Christmas. Even when it is the Christmas season it seems like we all forget the wonder of Christ's birth and life. Somehow the idea has become so common that we seem numb to it. Yet we know the truths: Jesus was born of a miraculous birth, and He came to give us all salvation. In Luke 2:11, the angel tells the shepherds, "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." They go see Jesus, worship Him, and spread the news. We too are called to spread the Good News. After his resurrection, Jesus tells His apostles, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation" (Mark 16:15). Later on Acts 5:42 reads, "Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ." Obviously we have not interacted with Jesus physically and did not witness his resurrection, but we have received salvation through His death. We live in His mercy, and we can spread that grace as it is continually renewed.
The second part of the elves' code says, "There's room for everyone on the nice list." This guideline can easily correlate to evangelism and the idea that there is always room for more people in Heaven as part of God's adoptive family. Ephesians describes how in God's love for us, "he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding" (1:5-8). Joining God's eternal family provides more for us at which to wonder. Jesus' blood redeemed us, and in grace God adopts us into His family. As the end of the passage notes, God also bestows upon us wisdom and understanding. We should use these gifts, coupled with grace, to spread God's love, inviting other people into His eternal family.
However, it takes effort extend these invitations. Using Buddy as an example, you can see how his enthusiasm is received in most cases. People look at him like he's crazy and dismiss him or they return his joy with hostility. As Christians we will face similar reactions. Yet we shouldn't let that damper the brightness of God's light in us. He continually brings us joy, and we can keep letting that overflow so that others can benefit from it. Even a little friendly action can brighten someone's day. You never know when a simple smile at a person you pass on the street might make a difference in that life. Maybe you were the only one who showed friendly warmth to that individual. We never know how we plant seeds and how they will grow. Chapter nine in 2 Corinthians talks about sowing generously. A passage encourages us to do good for others because, "You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. this service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" (11-15). We should constantly seek ways to plant the seed for God's Word.
Finally, the best way to spread God's love is letting His light in us shine bright for all to see. Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12), and God "made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6b). We need to let that light shine brightly as we let God's love overflow in our everyday living, sharing it with everyone we encounter. Buddy happily declares, "I'm in love! I'm in love! I'm in love, and I don't care who knows it!" It should be that evident through our expressions and behaviors that we are deeply in love with God and want the world to know it.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Does "Would you like to come over for dinner?" mean "Will you marry me?"?
The jump in seriousness and commitment in those two questions seems like a pretty big leap. Yet it seems as though most men start drawing these connections immediately, simply from an extension of hospitality.
As soon as I wrote that, it popped into my head that girls do this as well, though in a different way. We have fun daydreaming and talking with our friends about boys and ultimately marriage. In fun, we'll toss around what it would be like to marry a certain someone. This happens to the range of guys from the mysterious cutie across the room in class to a serious boyfriend. It's what we girls do. So in the guys' defense, this probably plays a role in them trying to stay on the safe side, especially since guys are stereotypically commitment-shy. However, that is not an excuse for their hesitation to accept a woman's generous hospitality. I hope to make some sense of all this having recently felt misunderstood on some level by all my new guy friends (as having friends of the male variety is a new phenomenon in my life).
So hanging out with guys is new to me, but they're people right? Considering them as friends, it seemed appropriate to treat them about the same as I would my girl friends. My highest love language is quality time (tied with words of affirmation), so obviously I enjoy simply spending time with my friends. Most of the bonding seems to occur over conversations during time spent together. A lot of these conversations happen over meals; it just makes sense. We all have to eat right? We might as well multitask a little bit. Especially now that I have my own place, I enjoy playing hostess and having company over to eat, sip tea, or hang out. I want to share my home with other people: open heart and open home.
It makes sense to me to invite my friends over for dinner; this includes guys. This is where the thin line for boundaries comes into play. I may be naive, but I can see how that might not follow the typical pattern of social agendas. It is rather personal to invite someone into your home, and a girl cooking dinner for a guy is a common thing that would really be a girl making dinner for her boyfriend. For the most part though, I've tried to minimize weird tension by inviting more than one. That, or sometimes the platonic intentions get clearly stated. The awkwardness seems unavoidable though. I'll admit that I'm a unique individual, but I don't think I can take the whole cake on these scenarios.
So long story short, the guy ends up misinterpreting my invitation to hang out or my inquiry for assistance. Sometimes the way they respond to their thought that I'm really trying to hit on them makes me chuckle; they get that sneaking suspicion that I might be attempting to seduce them, so they ignore my request or invitation. I had one friend try not to give me wrong idea about him returning the "affections" he thought I was expressing by bringing three other guys with him to help me air my tires. This particular friend had also tried to distance himself by not talking to me like he had the first few times we met. Had I not initiated a conversation about this, the friendship probably would have stopped where it stood. This scenario reminds me of how important it is to have open communication with people. Without that conversation, we would have gone on in ignorance and/or misery with trying not to give the other person the wrong idea, and subsequently would have squelched any possibilities of a growing friendship.
Then sometimes the guy just doesn't really understand what's going on. I was recently called creepy by a guy who is known as the creeper (but this isn't because he is genuinely a creeper; he just expresses creeper tendencies). Surprisingly, I have yet to notice his creepiness. So this guy calls me creepy when he is the one who says the things that make the conversations take a wrong turn. The first of these happened on a Wal-Mart shopping trip when he turned to me and semi-provocatively said, "Should I get naked?" while he looked at the cold juices. Then on our second shopping trip several weeks later, I told him that he should find himself a woman who knows how to shop after he complained of being a bad grocery shopper. He then looked at me and asked me if I was a good grocery shopper. But somehow I was the one who was trying to convince him to marry me! The next day I brought him cookies from a cookie event; it was my way of trying to make up for the three of us being stuck at Wal-Mart the night before since it took longer than anticipated to repair my car. This is when he called me creepy. I said something about them being in my car, and of course the conversation took a weird turn.
My last guy who greatly falls into this category of misunderstanding my hospitality is hard to place. Our interactions seem a little more difficult to categorize in terms of misinterpretation. Perhaps it's because as an idealist and a rational we share a rare compatibility (in reference to Myers-Briggs personality profiles). Ha! I think we both misunderstand the other person in general, and this stems from both of us hiding behind our security walls and either one of us having different perspectives on expectations for classiness and friendships. This can get a little frustrating at times. While this guy has come through as an extremely selfless gentleman performing actions such as rescuing me from a flat tire (all on his own accord) to being there to share a hug when needed, he skips the minor details of etiquette the general public typically follows. Part of this results from his personality. For instance, in a romantic relationship this type does not find it necessary to constantly tell his partner that he loves her; once it is out there, it is there always. I'm all about understanding everyone's unique personalities and expressions of love through different love languages, but I kind of expect people to exhibit at least some general class in friendliness: something simple as saying, "And how are you?" I will end my rant there. I get slightly flustered at this, despite the more significant selfless acts. These misunderstandings stem from different expectation levels I suppose. Partially because he happens to live next door, this gentleman has been the recipient of the most invitations or general sharing of baked goods. At the heart of sharing food with my neighbors sits my desire to express my gratitude for having such wonderful gentleman living across the hall (I don't think they know just how thankful I am that they are there and are my friends). Not to mention that I appreciate said person's selfless gestures for me. At least a couple times I have succeeded at having some quality time over shared desserts.
When I really think about it, these scenarios don't quite fall into the other ones where there is a huge leap in the intention interpretation. Or at least there isn't as much awkwardness involved. Again, maybe it's the compatibility of our personalities. We do share a significant similarity in how we communicate and think. The other two gentlemen mentioned do not share the N part of the Myers-Briggs personality types. This guy just happens to be a party to the misunderstandings with the others. I suppose I just have to go ahead and share that he likes to make me sound less naive and conservative than I am by telling people that I asked him to try out my sheets. Really though, it was past my bedtime and I was showing off my old satin sheets (they are not the right size for my new bed). Who wouldn't love sleeping on satin sheets?!?
I suppose in the end there always exists some level of "sexual" tension in inter-gender relationships, even in the most platonic of friendships. As in any relationship, especially the romantic ones, communication is key. For some reason in efforts to avoid awkwardness or damage to another's feelings, we avoid maintaining openness in communication. It's kind of funny when you think about it though; in our ignorance of true intentions or correct understandings of the other person, we end up creating more awkwardness. In a mutually loving friendship, such communication should be had, seeing how crucial it is.
I should be able to extend my hospitality and open my home to everyone, including the menfolk. Fortunately I know my true intentions and that I shouldn't have to explain myself away. God will take care of people's impressions of me. I don't want to make the guys uncomfortable, but I hope they know that they are welcome in my home. They are trustworthy, and I honestly would not allow just any guy into my place. In a lot of circumstances, guys and girls hanging out signifies some sort of interest in each other, but I am simply hoping to grow new friendships. Interactions with guys provide me with growth opportunities and expose me to different perspectives. I might not quite be understood or appreciated, but I'm going to try to not let that stop me from sharing God's love.
As soon as I wrote that, it popped into my head that girls do this as well, though in a different way. We have fun daydreaming and talking with our friends about boys and ultimately marriage. In fun, we'll toss around what it would be like to marry a certain someone. This happens to the range of guys from the mysterious cutie across the room in class to a serious boyfriend. It's what we girls do. So in the guys' defense, this probably plays a role in them trying to stay on the safe side, especially since guys are stereotypically commitment-shy. However, that is not an excuse for their hesitation to accept a woman's generous hospitality. I hope to make some sense of all this having recently felt misunderstood on some level by all my new guy friends (as having friends of the male variety is a new phenomenon in my life).
So hanging out with guys is new to me, but they're people right? Considering them as friends, it seemed appropriate to treat them about the same as I would my girl friends. My highest love language is quality time (tied with words of affirmation), so obviously I enjoy simply spending time with my friends. Most of the bonding seems to occur over conversations during time spent together. A lot of these conversations happen over meals; it just makes sense. We all have to eat right? We might as well multitask a little bit. Especially now that I have my own place, I enjoy playing hostess and having company over to eat, sip tea, or hang out. I want to share my home with other people: open heart and open home.
It makes sense to me to invite my friends over for dinner; this includes guys. This is where the thin line for boundaries comes into play. I may be naive, but I can see how that might not follow the typical pattern of social agendas. It is rather personal to invite someone into your home, and a girl cooking dinner for a guy is a common thing that would really be a girl making dinner for her boyfriend. For the most part though, I've tried to minimize weird tension by inviting more than one. That, or sometimes the platonic intentions get clearly stated. The awkwardness seems unavoidable though. I'll admit that I'm a unique individual, but I don't think I can take the whole cake on these scenarios.
So long story short, the guy ends up misinterpreting my invitation to hang out or my inquiry for assistance. Sometimes the way they respond to their thought that I'm really trying to hit on them makes me chuckle; they get that sneaking suspicion that I might be attempting to seduce them, so they ignore my request or invitation. I had one friend try not to give me wrong idea about him returning the "affections" he thought I was expressing by bringing three other guys with him to help me air my tires. This particular friend had also tried to distance himself by not talking to me like he had the first few times we met. Had I not initiated a conversation about this, the friendship probably would have stopped where it stood. This scenario reminds me of how important it is to have open communication with people. Without that conversation, we would have gone on in ignorance and/or misery with trying not to give the other person the wrong idea, and subsequently would have squelched any possibilities of a growing friendship.
Then sometimes the guy just doesn't really understand what's going on. I was recently called creepy by a guy who is known as the creeper (but this isn't because he is genuinely a creeper; he just expresses creeper tendencies). Surprisingly, I have yet to notice his creepiness. So this guy calls me creepy when he is the one who says the things that make the conversations take a wrong turn. The first of these happened on a Wal-Mart shopping trip when he turned to me and semi-provocatively said, "Should I get naked?" while he looked at the cold juices. Then on our second shopping trip several weeks later, I told him that he should find himself a woman who knows how to shop after he complained of being a bad grocery shopper. He then looked at me and asked me if I was a good grocery shopper. But somehow I was the one who was trying to convince him to marry me! The next day I brought him cookies from a cookie event; it was my way of trying to make up for the three of us being stuck at Wal-Mart the night before since it took longer than anticipated to repair my car. This is when he called me creepy. I said something about them being in my car, and of course the conversation took a weird turn.
My last guy who greatly falls into this category of misunderstanding my hospitality is hard to place. Our interactions seem a little more difficult to categorize in terms of misinterpretation. Perhaps it's because as an idealist and a rational we share a rare compatibility (in reference to Myers-Briggs personality profiles). Ha! I think we both misunderstand the other person in general, and this stems from both of us hiding behind our security walls and either one of us having different perspectives on expectations for classiness and friendships. This can get a little frustrating at times. While this guy has come through as an extremely selfless gentleman performing actions such as rescuing me from a flat tire (all on his own accord) to being there to share a hug when needed, he skips the minor details of etiquette the general public typically follows. Part of this results from his personality. For instance, in a romantic relationship this type does not find it necessary to constantly tell his partner that he loves her; once it is out there, it is there always. I'm all about understanding everyone's unique personalities and expressions of love through different love languages, but I kind of expect people to exhibit at least some general class in friendliness: something simple as saying, "And how are you?" I will end my rant there. I get slightly flustered at this, despite the more significant selfless acts. These misunderstandings stem from different expectation levels I suppose. Partially because he happens to live next door, this gentleman has been the recipient of the most invitations or general sharing of baked goods. At the heart of sharing food with my neighbors sits my desire to express my gratitude for having such wonderful gentleman living across the hall (I don't think they know just how thankful I am that they are there and are my friends). Not to mention that I appreciate said person's selfless gestures for me. At least a couple times I have succeeded at having some quality time over shared desserts.
When I really think about it, these scenarios don't quite fall into the other ones where there is a huge leap in the intention interpretation. Or at least there isn't as much awkwardness involved. Again, maybe it's the compatibility of our personalities. We do share a significant similarity in how we communicate and think. The other two gentlemen mentioned do not share the N part of the Myers-Briggs personality types. This guy just happens to be a party to the misunderstandings with the others. I suppose I just have to go ahead and share that he likes to make me sound less naive and conservative than I am by telling people that I asked him to try out my sheets. Really though, it was past my bedtime and I was showing off my old satin sheets (they are not the right size for my new bed). Who wouldn't love sleeping on satin sheets?!?
I suppose in the end there always exists some level of "sexual" tension in inter-gender relationships, even in the most platonic of friendships. As in any relationship, especially the romantic ones, communication is key. For some reason in efforts to avoid awkwardness or damage to another's feelings, we avoid maintaining openness in communication. It's kind of funny when you think about it though; in our ignorance of true intentions or correct understandings of the other person, we end up creating more awkwardness. In a mutually loving friendship, such communication should be had, seeing how crucial it is.
I should be able to extend my hospitality and open my home to everyone, including the menfolk. Fortunately I know my true intentions and that I shouldn't have to explain myself away. God will take care of people's impressions of me. I don't want to make the guys uncomfortable, but I hope they know that they are welcome in my home. They are trustworthy, and I honestly would not allow just any guy into my place. In a lot of circumstances, guys and girls hanging out signifies some sort of interest in each other, but I am simply hoping to grow new friendships. Interactions with guys provide me with growth opportunities and expose me to different perspectives. I might not quite be understood or appreciated, but I'm going to try to not let that stop me from sharing God's love.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Home: Where the Heart Is
"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:20
"Home: Where the Heart Is" were the starting point for my prayer mind map this morning. With that at the center of my purple construction paper, I explored what home means to me. At first, I thought I would examine a couple different places that hold parts of my heart that make me feel at home and how God provides that sense of home in my life. I started off looking at heaven as my ultimate home and then ended up looking closely at the idea of the heart and how that reflects a home.
So many people get caught up in naming a physical place home, whether that be a certain city or a specific house. While it is nice to feel a connection to these places, isn't it nicer to know that heaven is our eternal home and that God sent His Holy Spirit to make His home in our hearts and that our hearts are always with us?
God assures us that His children will live with Him eternally. We should live with our focus on His coming kingdom. This is where the idea of the heart comes in. My life should be focused on God. When I open myself to Him, He fills me with His Holy Spirit; it dwells in me! Ephesians 3:17, my favorite verse, reflects this: "And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love." He will first grow roots in your heart and then grow you spiritually, blossoming the blessings in your life.
I have felt this tremendously in my life. The more I trust God, the more freedom He has to rule my life, and the more freedom I have. After I started letting God into my heart, He began to fill it. He purifies our hearts and writes His Word upon them. With our homes built upon this in our hearts, we can reflect God in our lives. The seeds of God's love in our hearts makes us grow as Christians. We are moved to delve deeper into our bibles and our relationships with God.
Once built, this foundation provides the basis for our lives following God and basking in His goodness. With God filling our hearts and us loving Him with all our hearts, we can start to see all the blessings it brings to fruition. God consistently brings joy to my heart. Somehow, though I never feel unjoyful, it seems as though the joy renews on a regular basis. Proverbs 17:22 even reminds us that "A cheerful heart is good medicine." When we feel joyful, that cheer spreads. It also makes it that much easier for us to reach out to others in love.
Ultimately our home is in heaven where we will reside with God eternally. In the meantime, His Holy Spirit makes His home in our hearts; God dwells in us. We use this to continually grow in Him and to share His blessings upon us. We can let people not only into our physical homes to show our love but into our hearts as well to share God's love in us.
"For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness, made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." 2 Corinthians 4:6
"Home: Where the Heart Is" were the starting point for my prayer mind map this morning. With that at the center of my purple construction paper, I explored what home means to me. At first, I thought I would examine a couple different places that hold parts of my heart that make me feel at home and how God provides that sense of home in my life. I started off looking at heaven as my ultimate home and then ended up looking closely at the idea of the heart and how that reflects a home.
So many people get caught up in naming a physical place home, whether that be a certain city or a specific house. While it is nice to feel a connection to these places, isn't it nicer to know that heaven is our eternal home and that God sent His Holy Spirit to make His home in our hearts and that our hearts are always with us?
God assures us that His children will live with Him eternally. We should live with our focus on His coming kingdom. This is where the idea of the heart comes in. My life should be focused on God. When I open myself to Him, He fills me with His Holy Spirit; it dwells in me! Ephesians 3:17, my favorite verse, reflects this: "And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love." He will first grow roots in your heart and then grow you spiritually, blossoming the blessings in your life.
I have felt this tremendously in my life. The more I trust God, the more freedom He has to rule my life, and the more freedom I have. After I started letting God into my heart, He began to fill it. He purifies our hearts and writes His Word upon them. With our homes built upon this in our hearts, we can reflect God in our lives. The seeds of God's love in our hearts makes us grow as Christians. We are moved to delve deeper into our bibles and our relationships with God.
Once built, this foundation provides the basis for our lives following God and basking in His goodness. With God filling our hearts and us loving Him with all our hearts, we can start to see all the blessings it brings to fruition. God consistently brings joy to my heart. Somehow, though I never feel unjoyful, it seems as though the joy renews on a regular basis. Proverbs 17:22 even reminds us that "A cheerful heart is good medicine." When we feel joyful, that cheer spreads. It also makes it that much easier for us to reach out to others in love.
Ultimately our home is in heaven where we will reside with God eternally. In the meantime, His Holy Spirit makes His home in our hearts; God dwells in us. We use this to continually grow in Him and to share His blessings upon us. We can let people not only into our physical homes to show our love but into our hearts as well to share God's love in us.
"For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness, made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." 2 Corinthians 4:6
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Break in Solitude
So I am currently on break from school for Thanksgiving. This year I have decided that it makes more sense for me to stay home rather than travel. I just needed time for myself to catch up on my personal work: quality time at home, relaxation, homework, my to do list, upkeep on house-cleaning.
For some reason most people's reactions reflect a need to feel sorry for me when they hear that I am going to stay here for the break. While this is a nice sentiment, it is not necessary. God has tremendously blessed me, and I am looking forward to having a week's vacation at home. I plan to spend a good amount of time progressing on my NaNoWriMo novel and get to the other parts of my routine as well; this greatly excites me. My normal schedule keeps me really busy, and I love that. Especially this semester I have had the opportunity to spend a ton of quality time with wonderful people with whom I have formed relationships. I have led a small group and enjoyed growing with those girls. I have started two discipleship relationships where I get to mentor two amazing girls on a one-on-one basis. I have also grown in my other friendships as well. My routine normally stands throughout my activities, but I definitely don't get through everything on a daily basis. This will not be the case for most the days of break. I get to take this break to step back from that to recharge in a sense. I get to catch up on all my personal projects and such. This is especially nice since it balances out with all my other normal responsibilities and relationships. I know I still have my community and that I am not really in total solitude.
So despite it seeming sad at first that I am spending my time over break alone, there is no need to feel sorry for me. I willingly chose this because it made the most sense. Then surprisingly, I've already spent time with friends every day so far. So as of yet my routine has not made it quite far even over the break. I will have a few good days for that though.
For some reason most people's reactions reflect a need to feel sorry for me when they hear that I am going to stay here for the break. While this is a nice sentiment, it is not necessary. God has tremendously blessed me, and I am looking forward to having a week's vacation at home. I plan to spend a good amount of time progressing on my NaNoWriMo novel and get to the other parts of my routine as well; this greatly excites me. My normal schedule keeps me really busy, and I love that. Especially this semester I have had the opportunity to spend a ton of quality time with wonderful people with whom I have formed relationships. I have led a small group and enjoyed growing with those girls. I have started two discipleship relationships where I get to mentor two amazing girls on a one-on-one basis. I have also grown in my other friendships as well. My routine normally stands throughout my activities, but I definitely don't get through everything on a daily basis. This will not be the case for most the days of break. I get to take this break to step back from that to recharge in a sense. I get to catch up on all my personal projects and such. This is especially nice since it balances out with all my other normal responsibilities and relationships. I know I still have my community and that I am not really in total solitude.
So despite it seeming sad at first that I am spending my time over break alone, there is no need to feel sorry for me. I willingly chose this because it made the most sense. Then surprisingly, I've already spent time with friends every day so far. So as of yet my routine has not made it quite far even over the break. I will have a few good days for that though.
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