In His Glory

"Greater Love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends." - John 15:13


How many of you just read that verse and automatically thought of Easter? Jesus's death on the cross to save us from our sins. I mean after all, He did say this less than twenty-four hours before His crucifixion. Honestly, I've always thought of this verse as relating to Jesus' sacrifice on the cross.

Until a few weeks ago...

Just like every Tuesday night, I was at a Chi Alpha worship service on my college campus. But that night was different. You see? It was our last worship service of the semester, before finals and before we all went home for a month long break. And as we do at the end of every semester we had a special service just for worship and communion.

At some point during the service we started to sing "O Come All Ye Faithful." At one point during this song, it says, "We'll give You all the glory." As I sang those words to my Savior, I started thinking.

Earlier this year God had been teaching me a lot about His Love (and He still is). He was particularly focusing on what His Love looks like and that His Love for us is what brings Him so much glory. Anytime I would see a cross or a picture of Jesus on the cross, it was like God was telling me, "This. This is Love."

His death on that cross was the greatest display of Love He could ever give - the laying down of His life for me. And since God is Love, His death on that cross was the greatest display of who He is that He could ever give to the world.  The more God revealed that to me, the more I came to see His death on that cross as the moment of His greatest glory. Because that was the moment I could look back on over 2,000 years later and say, "That is when Jesus showed me what Love is. That is when He showed me how much He Loves me."

So as I sang that popular Christmas carol, I was reflecting on what God had taught me earlier this year. But you see, this song talks about looking on Him lying in a manger, not looking at the cross. It even tells the faithful to come to Bethlehem and behold Him. Not to Jerusalem to behold the cross.

As I worshiped and thought about these things, God reminded me of John 15:13. And I understood. I understood why the image of Jesus in a manger is so holy.

When Jesus was in that manger, He was giving up His life. For the first time. He was giving up His life in heaven so that He could show us how to live in God's power and freedom. He was giving up His life so that we could know who God is. He was giving up His life in heaven to be with us on earth for thirty-three years. Just like He would give up His life on earth thirty-years later to pay the price for that relationship.

So, next time you see a picture of baby Jesus in that manger, remember. Remember why that night was so holy. Remember how great His Love is for you. Remember that no matter how dirty and smelly that manger was, Jesus was in the moment of His greatest glory. His greatest glory because it was His greatest Love.

Dear Jesus,
I remember. I remember that today is all about You. If it were not for Your Love, today would not be worth celebrating because You never would have entered our world. Thank You. For everything. I Love You. Have a very happy birthday.
Love,
Me
PS - Thanks for sharing Your presents.

For Who You Are

When you're friends with people, what is it that makes you like them? Or if you say you love them, what is your reason? Do you love them because of the things they do? Do you love them because of the things they like or dislike? Do you love them because of their sense of humor? Or do you love them because of who they are?

Over the last several months, God has been showing me a lot about Himself and the things He can do or be for me. He's shown me that He is the firm foundation I can build on if I choose. And when I chose Him, He remained solid. He's shown me that He can lead me if I choose to follow Him. He's shown me that He wants me to be close to Him. He's shown me that I can trust Him. He's shown me a glimpse of His faithfulness and given me promises that I'm excited to see fulfilled. He's shown me His power time and time again as people come to know Him, step out in what He has called them to, and receive healing. And all these things make Him worthy of our worship - worthy of our Love.

But over the last few weeks, He's shown me something more. He doesn't want to be praised because of what He has done or is doing. He doesn't want to be praised because of what He will do. Of course He wants the glory for those things and He wants to be thanked for them. But most of all, He wants to be praised for who He is. 

Our God is worthy of all praise. If He had never done anything for us, if He chose never to do anything for us again, He would still be worthy of praise. He would still be worthy of glory. And He would still be worthy of Love.

After all, He is the creator of the Universe. He is more powerful than any other power in the world. He is wiser than the wisest person in the world. He is faithful to the end. He is pure and righteous. He is strong and protective. He is forgiving. He is holy (a characteristic we will never be able to comprehend in this life).

And He is Love. He doesn't just Love us. He is Love itself. He pours Himself out for each and every one of us to know and experience in our own way. He is the greatest giver in the world just because He is Love.

He is worthy of praise. Not because of what He has done or will do for us. But because He is God. He is worthy of praise because of who He is, and our praise is the best thing we could ever give Him.

Dear God,

I thank You for being You. I am continually amazed by who You are and how You pour yourself out on me everyday. How You give of Yourself to the people of this world. Thank You for being a God who is worthy of praise and glory and honor and worship. Thank you for being a God who deserves all my Love - all my devotion and adoration. Thank You for being the only God who deserves all of that. I praise You for who You are - even if I don't know everything that means. I praise You still, and I can't wait until You show me more of who You are.

Love,

Me

Running After You

"As Jesus was walking along, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector's booth. 'Follow Me and be My disciple," Jesus said to Him. So Matthew got up and followed Him." - Matthew 9:9


If you're out on a hiking trail, what would you rather have - a guide or directions? Before you answer, let me explain the difference.

First, directions. They have to be created by someone who's been there before. They can tell you which way to turn whenever you have a choice to make. They can tell you the major landmarks and probably the places where you'll be likely to take a wrong turn.

Now, a guide. A guide has been on the trail many times before. He knows every little thing about it. He can tell you where every stone is that you might trip over. He can pull the tree branches aside so they don't hit you in the face. He can show you all the beautiful things along the side of the path. When you come to a fork in the road or an intersection, you don't have to stop and figure out which way the map or directions tell you to go, because the guide is there to lead you.

Now you can decide. Which would you rather have? A guide or directions?

Jesus asks us to follow Him. He doesn't want us to just ask Him how to get somewhere. He wants us to follow Him there. He wants to be our guide.

That's something He's been teaching me about - what it means to follow Him. One thing about following Him, is that I have to stay close to Him. Which takes a lot of learning.

Think about your closest friends. You probably know them pretty well. Right? You're so close to them that you know their favorite movie, their favorite music, their favorite place to eat. You know what they dislike. You know what they like to do. And it's not difficult to think the way they would in any given situation. When they ask you to do something for them, you probably don't think twice about it. And you got to that point by talking with them and spending time with them.

It's the same way with God. You get close to Him by being with Him and talking with Him. Eventually you can start to understand the way He thinks. Even if it's not the way you think on your own, you can still choose to see things the way He does. You can understand why He sees them that way. And it makes you happy to see them His way and do things the way He wants them done.

As you get closer to Him, it becomes easier to follow Him. You know Him better, so it's easier to trust Him. You'll be close enough to see the stumbling blocks He points out and avoid them. You'll be close enough to see where He tells you to side step a hole. You'll be able to see and appreciate the small beauties in your life that He points out. You'll even be close enough to see where He wants you to go at those decision-making points. Sure, you'll still have to listen when He tells you where to go, but you won't have to wait as long because you'll hear more quickly.

That's what it means to be a follower of Christ, to let Him be your guide. It means being close to Him, doing what He says to do when He says to do it, without thinking about the alternatives. It means enjoying your life, just because He's a part of it.

When you choose to follow Him, it makes a difference. When Matthew chose to follow Him, he lost his reputation as a "sinner" and left the legacy of a disciple, one of the members of the original church. For me, so far, it's meant discovering how to have a closer relationship with my true Best Friend and how to trust Him more.

What difference will it make in your life when you choose to follow Him?

Teach Me

Ever had one of those tests you had to study for for a really long time? One where it seemed like no matter how much you understood, you still couldn't get it all. Every time you understood something else, you realized there was more you needed to understand that you hadn't realized you needed to know before.

I am realizing that I have so much to learn. God is teaching me stuff left and right. Every time I talk to Him. Every time I step into a church service or something else of that sort. Every time I talk with the friends who push me closer to Jesus. He teaches me something new. Or at the very least helps me understand something that isn't really so new.

Right now, there is a position God wants me to be in. A place where He wants me to be. And I know where that spot is.

There's only one problem. Up until the last week or so, I was trying to learn how to get to that point so I could earn the rewards from it. It's like studying to get an A on a test.

The thing is, getting an A on a test isn't the point of studying. The point of studying is to learn. When it comes to my relationship with God the rewards, the things I want to know, are not the point of where He wants me to be. He wants me to get to that point so that I am closer to Him. Closer to everything He has for me.

So right now, I'm at that point of realizing that everything He taught me about getting to that point isn't just for that. It's about putting those things into practice and being right where He wants me. The more I learn about that, the more I realize that I have a lot left to learn. For instance, I have to learn how to put those things into practice. I have to learn how to make them real in my life.

But as I continue getting closer to Him, He'll get me where I need to be. Sure, there will still be work to do. There will still be more things to learn, but I'll be where I need to be for that moment in time. And eventually He'll give me the things I originally thought were my rewards.

For now though, I'm just going to focus on the point of studying. I'm going to learn what He has to teach me and put it into practice. At the same time, I'll know that I'll get my A+ whenever He is ready to give it to me.

Upon the Rock

You're standing in front of a friend. Your back is to him. He holds out his arms and says, "Trust me." I can trust him. He's never let me down before, you think. So you start to fall backward, not trying to catch yourself.

There's just one thing you didn't count on. Your friend isn't quite as strong as you thought. He's there to catch you. And he does. But he can't hold you up. You still land on the floor. Not hard, and not flat on your back. But it still hurts, because you trusted him not to let you fall.

Now, I want to ask you a question. Who is it that you are trusting to take care of you? Most people you could put your trust in can end up letting you down. Just like the friend in this trust fall scenario. However, there is someone you can trust to always catch you. Even when it seems impossible. Maybe this video clip will give you an idea of what I mean.

Trust has come up a lot recently in my talks with God. It hasn't just been trusting His direction, trusting His plan or even trusting His promises. I think He knows I understand that. (Yes, I could still use some work on them, but I do at least understand them.) What He's working on has been putting all my trust in Him.

He wants me to trust HIM to catch me. Not anyone else. Only Him.

It's difficult. First of all, even though I know He's with me and He's trustworthy, I still can't see Him. I can't audibly hear His voice. And sometimes, that makes things hard. Then there's the real problem.

God has given me some great friends. I really appreciate them, and I thank Him for them daily (or at least I try to remember to do so daily). I know I can trust them, and I know they Love me. I just take that trust a little bit too far sometimes.

The friends God has given me are great. He put them in my life to help me, encourage me, support me, pray for me, teach me. And I could get that list to go on for a while. But they're not perfect. They're going to mess up. Which I can understand. I get that. When it happens, it's not hard to forgive them.

What gets me is change. I do not like change. At all. I hate it. If the friends I have right now could be with me for the rest of my life, I would be perfectly fine with that. But I know they can't be. God wants every one of us to grow. He has places He wants us to go and things He wants us to do. And that means they can't always be with me.

God doesn't change though. He doesn't change, and He doesn't leave. That's why He wants me to trust Him. He wants all of my security to be Him. But He gives me a choice.

He actually makes it pretty clear in Matthew 7 which choice we should make too. He tells of a wise man who builds His house on God and His Word. When times get tough and things start moving, the house stands, because the foundation isn't going anywhere. Then He tells us about a foolish man. The fool builds His house on sand, things that move and fall away. When times get tough, the house falls apart because it's not built on the right things.

About a week ago, God made it very clear that the choice was up to me. I wanted Him to tell me how He was that firm footing, that solid foundation. That's not at all what He told me. Because I already know. He made it very clear that the choice was up to me. I could choose to build my security on Him or I could choose to leave it where it was. It was a very hard choice. I'm still working on it. Every day. But I took the first step toward being secure in Him.

It's changing things, but in a good way. I still get to enjoy my friends and the time I have with them right now. I also get to learn to trust God with those friendships. I have the chance to obey God every single day (not always enjoyable in the moment, but always pays off). Most importantly, I get to build my security on a solid foundation that I don't have to worry about it crumbling underneath me.

That's the best part. When your security is in God, your future is stable. You don't have to worry about how you'll hold things together when something else changes. All you have to do is trust Him and let Him take care of it. All while you enjoy the present.

That freedom is why He wants you to build your house on Him. So do it.

I Give You Control

Have you ever had someone try taking you to a surprise location? Your friend gets you in the car and then won't tell you where you're going. If you're like me, you spend a lot of time trying to figure out where you're going. Based on the direction, you might even think you know where you're going. So you try to plan ahead - what you'll do when you get there, what you need to have there. Not that you can do anything about it, but you try.

So you're riding along, ready to go to the place you have determined is your destination. Just ahead of you, you see the exit you'll have to take. But the driver doesn't seem to realize that she is about to pass the exit. Finally, you say something; you let them know you're about to pass the exit.

"I know," says your friend, but she keeps driving.

That's when you try to take the wheel. You know where you're supposed to be going, and you don't intend to pass it.

Finally, your friend gives in and lets you steer her down the exit ramp. But once you let go of the wheel, she doesn't turn like you expect her to. Instead, she continues driving straight ahead, back up the entrance ramp to the highway.

"What are you doing?" you ask.

"Taking you where I promised you we would go."

"But you just passed it. We were supposed to follow that road."

"I never said that." Your friend looks at you lovingly. "You just assumed. I have plans to go somewhere much better." She smiles and returns her eyes to the road ahead.

Remember when you left that full service gas station and decided to let God come along? When you first get on the road, is He in the passenger seat or is He driving?

When I first let God in the car, when I first started letting Him be a part of my life outside of church, He was most definitely in the passenger seat. I asked Him for input on where I should go. I enjoyed talking to Him and spending time with Him. But He was definitely not in control. I still had my own plans, and I was set on following them. I thought I knew where God wanted to take me, so I started driving there.

Last school year, God threw in some new instructions. I chose to follow them. That's when confusion ensued. These new instructions turned me away from my plans. Kind of. He didn't completely change my direction, but He did adjust it.

Just because I chose to follow those instructions didn't mean it was easy. All of a sudden, I had no clue where I was going. I still knew which way I was heading, but I didn't know my destination anymore. It was rough because I still wanted to know. Without knowing, I didn't have a lot of control. In essence, I had allowed God to take me past what I thought was my exit, but I still wanted to be driving. I wanted to know where I was going so I could get there.

But God didn't want me to know. He wanted me to trust Him. He wanted me to give Him control. It was hard, but I finally did it. I learned how to say, "I don't know." I learned how to be alright with just letting God direct me where He wanted without begging for directions so I could get myself there. I knew He would tell me His plan when the time was right.

The only problem is that giving God control means that He does eventually get off the highway. He eventually takes an exit, whether it's an exit you like or not.

That happened to me this summer. Well, kind of. I'm not actually to the exit yet, but I can see it, and I can see that God is steering me in that direction.

To put it simply, I was not happy when I noticed where God was starting to steer me. That direction (and ultimately the destination it leads to) scares me. If I had still had plans, it would have completely changed them. One thing is for sure. It was something I never wanted to do. At all.

My solution - I tried to take the wheel back. I tried to get back in the driver's seat. I wanted to continue down the highway without knowing where it would lead. The thing is, not knowing wasn't stretching me anymore. It wasn't making me grow. And, well, God wants me to grow.

So if I wanted to let Him stay in control, I actually had to accept that I have an idea of His plans for my life, even if I don't know the specifics. It gives me a lot more room to grow. If for no other reason, because I have to prepare for that new destination. But more than anything, I have to learn how to really trust God and where He's taking me more than I ever have before. For me, it took a realization of two things to be able to leave God in control.

Number one. I had to realize where my purpose comes from. If I'm not living in God's purpose for my life, then I don't really have a purpose at all. And if I don't really have a purpose, I'm not going to be happy with my future. Simple, but still not easy to accept.

Number two. I can't fight with God. I've never been able to. I've tried. And I always fail. For two reasons. The first being fairly obvious. He's God. Eventually, God will get His way. Even if He finds someone else to do the job, He gets it done.

The second reason is that I care a lot about what God wants from me. I don't want to disappoint Him. I see Him as my Daddy, as my Best Friend. So I really want to make Him proud of me, to make Him happy with what I do. So even when I do decide I want to fight Him to get my way, I end up fighting myself at the same time. I end up fighting myself over whether I will let God win or force my own way when I know it's not the best way for me to go. And again, God ends up winning.

When God reminded me of that, I finally told Him yes. I told Him that I would let Him stay in control. I would let Him continue to direct me. I'm still not sure I actually want to go where I think He's taking me, but I know I will want to by the time He gets me there. And I'm willing to start heading there now, even though I know I'm not ready to be there. And that's what is important right now. I'm letting God move me toward that exit lane and moving forward at His rate.

He's teaching me to listen. He's teaching me to be a leader of His people. He's teaching me to trust Him with everything. And He's taking me to His destination for me one step at a time. He has control.

I hope you'll give God control of your life too. Let Him do more than fill you. Let Him drive you too. It's a day-by-day choice, though. You can give Him control one day and try to wrestle it back the next, but once you get used to it, giving Him control isn't as difficult as it was initially. It gets easier every time you do it.

Sit back and relax. You're the passenger on this journey of life. Let God take you where He wants and watch what He does. The things He takes you through will amaze you. And the final destination will be even more beautiful than the road there.

Take the Wheel

Now you’ve pulled into that full service station. You’ve got enough fuel to keep going. You’re ready to get back on the road and keep driving.

You put the key in the ignition and put the car in gear. As you’re about to move your foot from the break to the gas pedal, you look up. The attendant is still standing there. You’re confused. He already did his job of filling your gas tank, and you paid. What else could he possibly want? So you step on the gas and pull out, leaving the attendant standing there.

Why would the attendant still be standing there? There could be two reasons (at least that I can think of). Number one: he wants to talk to you some more, to get to know you more. (Yes, I know that would be strange in today’s society.) Number two: there’s more that he can do to prepare you for your journey.

Now, back to your driving. You've got a full tank of gas. You are fully capable of continuing to drive. Well, at least you thought so. You forgot that you needed power steering fluid. When you try to turn, it's much harder than it should be. Then you look at your windshield. Suddenly, it seems filthy. Even in the few places you can see, it's difficult and obstructed by all the dust and dead flies on the window. You have to slow down drastically to avoid crashing. Then you look down at your dashboard. The oil light is on, and you have no clue how long it's been on. That's when you feel the gears in your car start locking into place. Even though the car has the fuel to keep going, it's resisting movement.

That's when you look up at your rearview mirror. You're still fairly close to the gas station. That's when you see him. The attendant is still sitting there waiting on you. He knows you're about to come back.

Again, that attendant waiting for you to return is God. When you leave your time with Him, He stays. He stays because He wants more time with you. He wants to know you better. And He knows that you need more from Him.

It's important to stay full of God's Love. His Love give you the energy and the ability you need to keep moving. But His Love does so much more than that. In a sense, God's Love can be your fuel, your power steering fluid, your oil and your window cleaner. You just have to let Him work on all those areas of your life.

There are times during your walk with God that you're going to need to change directions. When you're spending time with God, that change of directions is much easier. We're confident in His direction and our ability to hear from Him. We're confident in our ability to follow what He has told us to do. No matter how much resistance we face from other people, God's Love is there to bless us and help us make that turn. It's like our power steering fluid.

No matter where you are in life, you need direction. You need to know when to turn or when to continue in the direction you're headed. But without someone telling you where to go and when, it can get hard. More than one decision might seem like the right one. No decision may seem right. That's another reason we need to spend time with God. He is our window washer. God is the only one who knows where each path will lead us if we take it. So when we listen to Him, He'll make it clear where He wants us to go and how to get there. He'll show us the next step on our journeys. We won't have to slow down to try to figure out where to go. We'll be able to hear His direction right away when we spend time with Him.

Then there's those directions God gives us that we don't want to follow. He tells us something that scares us or that completely goes against all our plans. Or it just doesn't make sense. If we're not spending time with Him, not receiving a continual outpouring of His Love, we'll lock up. Even if we can see where He wants us to go and we can tell that He's making it possible, we resist. We quit moving because we don't want to go where He's taking us. But when we spend time with Him, we learn to trust Him. We know that He Loves us too much to send us somewhere we'll hate or somewhere we won't succeed. We learn to trust that His plans are better than we can imagine and that they're truly good for us. So no matter how much we don't want to, we'll trust His plans and direction, His Love, enough to obey. We won't lock up when He tells us to go those places we don't want to go. We'll run like a well-oiled machine.

God wants to do all that for us. He wants to give us enough Love, wants us to experience His Love, so much so that we stay full. We keep coming back so we stay full of Him. We keep coming back so He can help us through those tough times. So He can give us clear direction. So we'll obey His direction. But He wants more than that.

He wants that time with us so He can have a relationship with us. He never wants us to leave Him. But He knows that we can't just stay in one place forever. And if we did, it would defeat our purpose as His children. We're supposed to be a witness to other people, so we can't always stay alone with God.

That's why God asks to be a constant part of our lives. When we pull away from the station, when we leave that time alone with Him, He still wants to be with us. We need to let Him into the car. And since He's the one who really knows what He's doing anyway, we may as well move over and let Him take the wheel. Let Him not only take care of our lives, but control them. That's when we'll really stay full of Him.

The Cup in Your Hand

Last week, God retaught me the lesson that I need to be filled with more of Him and His Love everyday. Hopefully, this time I actually learned it. But this weekend, I got to go on a retreat, a whole weekend dedicated to letting Him refill me. And He continued to teach me.

If you read what I wrote last week, you know how I compared being filled with God and His Love to a car that is filled with gasoline. Having that quality time with Him is like pulling into the gas station. Now, here's something else to think about. That gas station is full service.

Think about a full service gas station. What do drivers have to do there? They don't have to do anything. All they have to do is tell the attendant what they want, what they need, and allow the attendant to take care of it. All have they have to do is pull into the station. When they pull into the station, the attendant asks them what they need done to the car, and does it. Then they pay the attendant and keep driving.

Being filled with God is really similar. He is a full service God. First we have to take the time and make the effort to spend time with Him. He's waiting there for us. As soon as we get alone with Him, He's ready to come fill us up. He comes to us and waits for us to tell Him what we want and what we need. Once we tell Him, He waits for us to open our hearts to receive from Him. When we do that, He goes to work. He starts filling our hearts and our lives. And it's wonderful.

It's beautiful to know you are full and to be confident that you can continue moving forward until time for the next refilling. It's beautiful to know that you didn't have to expend any energy to fill up. All you had to do was sit back and drink from the cup God holds out to you.

Just like the attendant at the gas station expects payment, God expects something in return to. He asks that you just love Him back. That's all.

Then, you can go out and keep running. Just like a car that leaves the gas station with a full tank can keep driving. You can go out and follow the road God wants you to take. You run the race He has given you. You show people how to get to Him and when it is time, you go back and get refilled. You just make sure that it's before you start running on empty again.

Yep. That's what being filled means.

Fill Me

Ever heard one of those lessons that you seem to have to learn over and over again? Particularly a lesson that costs you the first time, yet you still have to learn it more than once? Maybe a mild lesson of this sort would be that you shouldn't stay out past 1 a.m. when you have a full schedule (starting with an 8 a.m. class) the next day.

Well, I have. In fact, I've been relearning a lesson this week. The sad thing: it's the second time in the last three months that I've had to learn this lesson. And the last time wasn't the first time either. This might only be the second time I've experienced it at this magnitude, but I have lost count of how many times I've had to go through it.

And what makes it even harder to admit that I've had to relearn it again... It's a simple lesson.

I can't run on empty.

It's an easy concept right? When a car runs out of gas it dies. When a runner has no more energy, he stops. Pretty easy to understand. So why is it so hard to apply?

Let's look at this way. If the driver knows his car will die if he or she doesn't put more gas in it, why doesn't he or she put more gas in it? There could be a few reasons. Maybe he's in a hurry and is hoping the gas will last him until he gets to his destination and back to the gas station. Maybe she's out of money and doesn't think she can afford to pay the high price of gas. Maybe he's on a long road trip and passes the last gas station for miles thinking he has enough gas to get to the next one.

Now, let's look at the consequences of these actions. For the man who's in a hurry, what happens? He gets to his destination, but just barely. When it's time to leave and go to the next place, he can't start the car and is late getting everywhere else he is supposed to go that day. How about the woman who doesn't think she has enough money to pay for gas? She gets stuck on the side of the highway and has to call a tow truck, another expense on top of paying for a full tank of gas anyway. What about the guy on the road trip? He gets five miles out of town and has to turn around and walk back to fill up his gas can, only to have to turn the car around long enough to get to the gas station and fill it up again.

How does this apply to my life? I don't have a car, and I've never run out of gas when I was driving. But you see, time alone with Jesus, soaking up His Love is, is my "gas," my "fuel." And even if you don't know it yet, it's yours too.

God wants to spend time with us. Because He Loves us. So He made us so that we would need to spend time with Him too. And we need daily refueling.

We just let so many things get in the way. We get in a hurry, so we don't stop long enough to listen to His voice, to listen to Him telling us He Loves us. We try to save our time by not having quality time with Him. Guess what that means. We stress out more than we did in the first place which just makes us take longer getting done with everything else we need to get done. When we pass up a chance to receive His Love, it often seems to take too long getting to the next natural opportunity, and we have to make the time.

We can't do what God asks to do when we're running on empty. We can't show people His Love without being filled with it ourselves. We can't keep doing His work without the spiritual energy to do so. Loving others, working for God, those things require a continuous pouring out.

And when we're pouring out, we must continuously be refilling. Spending time with Him. Listening to His voice. Thanking Him for the gifts He gives us. Acknowledging the things He does for us. Letting Him wrap us in His arms. Letting Him speak your Love language and taking the time to listen to Him as He does so.

I promise, it's worth it.

Pierce the Dark

"I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in Me will no longer remain in the dark." - John 12:46



If you were to go on an excursion, when would you use a torch? Would you use it during the day or in the dark of night? If you're like most people, you use it at night. Why? The torch shines just as brightly in the light of day as it does after dark. So there must be a reason that it is only used in darkness.


There's a simple explanation. A torch pales in comparison to the light of the sun. It doesn't even make a noticeable difference in its surroundings.


It's kind of like God's light in a Christian's life. A torch is needed more when it is dark. God's light is needed more where darkness is overwhelming. Yes, we are supposed to let our light shine. Yes, we are supposed to make that light visible to those around us.


But there's more to it than that.


God wants us to do more than shine. He wants us to carry His light into the darkest places. That's where He is needed the most. He wants us to carry His light to those places where people cannot see what is holding them back. Those places where people have given up all hope. Because His light illuminates their lives and their paths. It brings hope when they can see what is coming next.


It's hard. I'll be honest. Carrying God's light into those dark places is hard. And it can be scary. Evil loves darkness because it can hide there. But just because we can't see those obstacles or anything coming our way doesn't mean we shouldn't go. In fact, it's the very reason why we should. If things look hopeless from the outside, imagine how the people trapped in it feel. Carrying God's light there eliminates that hopelessness. First of all, it allows the torch bearer to see what is around him or her - including the good that was originally hidden and can now give him or her hope. Secondly, it draws other people to the Light; it allows them to see a difference and to see hope and shows them how to light their own torch.


That Light God wants us to carry is amazing. It can't be explained or even understood. But earlier this year, God helped me understand a part of it by comparing it to the Olympic torch. The Olympic torch is actually quite fascinating. Obviously, the relay is different every Olympic year, but the torch has been transported through some very interesting places and in interesting ways. But there is one thing that really stands out to me right now.


The Olympic torch has been carried through places that should have extinguished its light - including underwater.


God used this fact to teach me the most important thing about His Light. Nothing can extinguish it. Have you ever carried a candle into a dark room and had the flame go out on you just because it was dark? Of course not. In fact, the light from the candle actually got rid of the darkness. God's Light inside of us is the same way. Nothing can extinguish it - not rules or laws or pressure from people. Not even Satan himself can extinguish that Light.


So carry His Light. Don't be complacent about it. Just because the Light inside of you is shining doesn't mean everyone can see it. The people who need it the most are so lost in darkness that they will only see His Light if you carry Him to them. So do it. Pierce the darkness with the Light of the World.

Take Our Place

Suppose a friend has promised you an amazing house - a house for you and your children and your grandchildren to live in forever. All you have to do is complete a challenge and then step onto the property. And your friend will even help you complete the challenge. What would you do?

Well, I hope you're not like the children of Israel who came out of slavery in Egypt. The God who rescued them out of slavery promised them a land overflowing with milk and honey. It was a land they and their descendants would be able to live in forever. He would help them overcome all the enemies who stood in their way.

But the children of Israel saw the size of their enemies. They saw their enemies, and they were scared. So instead of going into the Promised Land, they turned away and ran. They told their God, "We don't believe you can do this. We're scared. We don't want what you've promised us." (In essence anyway. You won't actually find that as a verse in the Bible.)

So what happened? They were made to wander in the desert for forty years. Until God had raised up a generation who would take Him at His Word. A generation with leaders who would step up and say they could win. With leaders who obeyed God. A generation who would take possession of their promise.

You see? There's a secret to receiving God's promises. God doesn't just give them to you. He makes them available and provides a way for you to possess it. But you have a part in it. 

You have to trust Him. You have to know what He says is true. You have to know that His promises are good. You have to know that He will help you take them.

You have to obey Him. When God says to go, you go. When He says to stop, you stop. When He speaks, you listen. When He says to believe, you believe. When He says to watch in wonder at the work He does, you watch in wonder as He does it.

You have to face the obstacles in your way. Getting to what God has promised you isn't always easy. There's normally something in the way of your promise. For the Israelites, it was the Canaanites and the city of Jericho. For you, it could be lack of resources or funds. It could be an extremely large task. Or it could just be that you are surrounded by people who don't believe what God told you. Either way, you have to look past it at what God has promised you. Then you have to trust that He'll move that obstacle out of your way, that He'll destroy anything that comes against you.

Finally, you have to actually take possession of the promise. When it is in your hands, in your grasp, don't let it go. Don't give your promise to someone God did not promise it to. It's your promise. Don't let someone else take control of it.

It takes a generation.

So, will you accept the promise? Will you possess it? God needs us to take back what He gave us.

So join with me. Let's be "a generation, rising up to take their place."

Take the Leap

Imagine you are standing at the edge of a high dive. Ten meters below you is a pool so deep you don't even know how far down the bottom is. You've never been this high. You've only gone off the low diving board. You've never been in water that deep before. And you're scared. Your coach is telling you that you can do it. He's never let you down before. Why would He now?

Now, I have a slightly different picture to paint for you. See that picture right above this? That was taken my last day at City of Refuge Children's Home in Jamaica. That window my friend and I are leaning out of has a ledge maybe about two feet below it. But after that ledge, there is nothing but a very steep mountain. And yes, we are leaning out of it without holding onto anything (well, except for our feet being stuck under the picnic table in front of the window).

But there is a funny story behind this picture. You see? The first few days we were in Jamaica, this friend kept leaning out the window. Several of us watching her were definitely freaking out. And I was one of the people freaking out initially. Then on our third day at the home, she tried to get me to do it with her. After I about had a heart attack once or twice from her doing it, you'd think she would know my answer, but it still took a few times telling her no for her to quit asking.

Well, you'd think after a year of hanging out with this friend I would know that I may as well not ever tell her no on stuff like that. Because it seems I always end up doing it later. About five minutes after she quit asking, I decided I wanted to do it. The only thing was that by that time, I had two things keeping me from doing it. One - I had just told her no about five times. (Yes, I can be that stubborn when I want to be.) Two - I was still scared.

We had dinner. We did devotions with the children. We played games. We went back to our room. I forgot about it. At least I thought I did.

Back in my room that night I was having some quiet time. I was reading my Bible, praying, listening to God. Apparently, God didn't forget about it. Well, before I closed my journal and went to bed, I really felt like God was telling me I needed to lean out that window, that He wanted to teach me something through it. So I wrote down in my journal that I would do it first thing in the morning the next day.

The next morning, I woke up. Before breakfast I made sure I leaned out the window. Surprisingly enough, I had fun doing it. I didn't get it right away, but by the end of the next day I did. God wanted to show me that the things I'm scared of, aren't worth being scared of. They actually end up being enjoyable. All I have to do is trust Him and act.

I'll be honest. I still haven't applied that lesson to much this year other than riding a few rides at amusement parks that previously terrified me. I got to thinking about that last week after riding one particularly "scary" ride that I loved. I wanted to know why God would teach me something that I hadn't had to use.

As I sat there talking to a friend about it, I was reminded of a verse I had read the night before. "I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father."


I got to thinking about that. God expects us to do things even greater than what Jesus did while He was on this earth. That's some pretty big deal stuff. I mean, come on. Jesus raised people from the dead with just a few words. He walked on water. He healed blind people. That's a lot to live up to. Honestly, it's scary.

God asks us to do scary stuff. He asks us to talk to people we've never met. He asks us to share His Word, His life and His freedom with them. He asks us to pray for people, lay our hands on them and watch them receive His healing. He asks us to bring people back to life spiritually by introducing them to Him. A lot of times, we're too scared to do it - scared of what people will think, scared of rejection, scared of failure.

But here's the thing. God still expects us to do what He asks. We don't have to be afraid. Just like He wanted me to lean out that window, He wants you to dive head first into all He has for you. He's really the one doing all the work. Even if we do fall, He's there to catch us. But He won't let us fall because He loves us too much. He believes we can do greater works than Jesus. He told us we will do greater works than Jesus did. Then He gave us His Spirit to ensure that we could do it and do it without fear.

So you're still on that high dive. You're standing there. You hear your coach telling you that you can do it. It's time. Go ahead and just dive.

Let it Shine

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden." - Matthew 5:14


We've all heard that before. And most of us know what it means. It means that a city on top of a hill has a light that can be seen for miles. No matter how hard you try to hide it, you can't. Even the darkest night cannot hide the light from that city.

But there's another way to think about a city on a hill. When you are that high up, you can also see for miles around you. You can see way better from there than from the bottom of a hill.

Well, about three weeks ago, I got to experience that first hand. I was sitting in a city at the top of a mountain. From where I sat, I could see the city of Kingston, Jamaica miles below. As it was every night that week, the view was beautiful. At first, a few rows of lights came on. The further the sun sank behind the mountains, the more the city below lit up. As I looked at that beautiful view, I noticed something.

It always happens in movies. One light in the house comes on, and a few seconds later, every other light in the house follows. Or one house lights up, and the next thing you know, the whole neighborhood is lit up. Something I know I have never thought about is that there's only one way for an audience of a movie to know those lights are on. The windows can't be covered. They have to be open for the light to be seen.

That is the job we as Christians have. There is a Light in our life that shines brighter than anything else in the world. It shines even brighter than the sun. It eliminates any trace of darkness. It wipes away pain, sorrow and suffering. The Light exposes sin so that it can be washed away. The Light shines down, illuminating the path we should take. This Light can do the same for anyone who will turn it on in their own lives.

Yet so many Christians try to hide it. I know I have. Yes, most people who know me know that I'm a Christian. They know I go to church. Most of my friends know that I really like my church and my campus ministry. They know I absolutely love Jesus. And if they know me well enough, they probably know that I could suggest a church or two in LA, Houston, Sydney, London, NYC, Branson, Fort Worth and even New Orleans. (Mind you, I've only been to two of those cities, and only been to church in one of them.) But I've still tried to hide that Light.

You see. I'm a journalism student. At what is probably the best journalism school in the world (without bias; if I was going to be biased, I'd say it is for sure the best). Journalists are supposed to remain objective. Journalists are supposed to report without bias. So I tried to keep my faith out of anything related to my classes in the School of Journalism (which was just flat out dumb since my faith is the entire reason I'm in the j-school). The thing is, my beliefs are the central part of who I am. Saying they don't effect my writing would be a flat out lie. And I've realized in the last few months, that no matter how hard I try, I can't do that. For one, I can't hide who I am, especially now that I am truly in love with my Creator. And for another, trying to pretend that my faith won't affect my writing would not be transparent (something else a journalist is supposed to be).

But if I quit trying to hide it, if I let the Light shine out of me.

The results are good. No, they're so amazing that only God can really understand how good they are.

You see. When people accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, it is like they flip a light switch in their lives. They can see much more clearly where they need to go. They can see anything that might hurt them and avoid it. And they can see the things and the people that will help them get where they need to go. But people around them still can't see.

That's why they need to open the window. That's why they need to share the Light in their lives. Of course, for the people on the outside, it's not quite as bright as it is inside yet. There are still shadows because the Source of Light in not in their lives yet. But they can see well enough to find that Source, to flip the light switch in their own lives. Sure, they might still trip over some things hiding in the shadows, but they'll get there eventually. They'll find the Source, flip the switch and all shadows in their lives will be gone.

Here's where it gets really good. When they do that, the Light will reach farther than it did with only one person's light shining. Even more people will be able to find their way to the Source of light and accept Him. It starts an irreversible trend.

That's what our lives should look like. That's what I'm working on making mine look like (even in the j-school). It's hard. I'll be honest. For me, it requires reversing a pattern I've been stuck in since my freshman year in high school of people knowing I'm a Christian but not knowing any more than that. It takes work. It requires letting the Light infiltrate every tiny bit of your life. Then letting the Light lead you to the window so you can look out and see a hurting world that needs the Light you have. Then choosing to share the Light.

We are that city on a hill. Because so many people can see the Light in us, that many more people are able to find the Source of light in their own lives. It's not just that people can see the Light in us no matter what. It's that our Light really cannot be hidden. If it is, other people will remain in darkness.

But here's the really cool part.

When we are that city on a hill, we get more than just the visibility. We get the view. We get to watch as the Light we let shine out of our lives affects the people we touch. We get to watch as first one light, then another, then another, then another... We get to watch as all those lights come on.

And the view is breathtaking.

I Receive Your Love

I like learning about love. It never ends. The more I learn about it, the more I realize how much I have to learn though. It is so hard to fully grasp love. But God keeps helping me understand more of it each day.

Love is two sided. We receive love so much better when we give it in return. Pouring love out on other people opens room in our hearts to receive it. We have to be open to receiving that love. It cannot just be an obligation. Being open to love shows other people how much you love them. Then they are open to receive love from you in return.

It is the same way with God.

We can ask God to show us His love all we want. But the thing is, He already did on the cross at Calvary. Until we show Him that we have received that love by giving Him our love, our hearts are not yet open to receive any more. Once we pour love and adoration out on Him, we give Him more room to flood us with His love. So He does.

There is something else about it being the same with God. Our hearts and our lives can be full of God too. When they are full of love, they are really full of God because God is love. They can be so full of God that we pour Him and His love out on others. When we do that, He is always there, ready to refill us because He knows we will share His goodness. 

Receive love. Give love. Receive more love.

Receive God. Give God. Receive more of God.

It's really that simple.

Lord of the Dance

Imagine you are at a ball. You know? Those old-fashioned dances that even the slow dances have actual steps. Picture yourself at one of those.

As the music plays, you sit there. At first, you just watch. But as time goes on, you want to be a part of the dance too. Just sitting and watching isn't enough. So you get up to dance. But this isn't a dance you can do by yourself. You'll fall if you don't have a partner. So you search for a partner.

You find someone, but all they want to do is follow you. And you don't know the steps, so you still can't dance. All you have is you and your partner standing there, looking confused and not going anywhere.

So you find a partner who knows how to dance. There's only one problem. This partner is great at leading you... in the wrong steps. It seems like you're always running into people who know the right steps or tripping over yourself so you don't run into them.

You decide to leave partner number two and try again. Partner number three seems perfect. They know all the right steps. They even know the words to say. But then they get distracted just when they're supposed to catch you. You fall to the floor.

You're about to give up. You've tried every kind of partner you can think of. And they all failed - miserably. You're hurt. You're tired. You're more lost and confused than you were when you started.

That's when you feel a tap on your shoulder. You look up. A hand is held out to you. Two eyes full of love look down at you. "Can I have this dance?'

You sit there for a second wondering what to say. You want to join the dance, but you've already tried so many times. You don't want to end up hurt or lost again. Eventually you make a decision. Slowly, you place your hand in the one held out to you. You allow the one holding out that hand to pull you back onto the dance floor and lead you in the most beautiful dance you've ever been a part of.

Now think about this. God is the one asking you, "Can I have this dance?"

I've had this analogy running through my mind recently of life being like a ball. The things going on around you are the music. They determine what kind of dance you should be doing. You can choose anyone or anything to be your partner, but only one partner knows the right steps, and that partner is God. Unlike other partners, you don't have to search Him out. Instead, He waits until you're ready and comes to you, hands outstretched, asking, "Can I have this dance?"

Accepting God's invitation to dance with Him takes trust. And a lot of it. You have to trust that He knows the right steps to take. You have to trust that He will tell you when to take those steps. Plus you actually have to follow Him for it to do any good.

But more than anything, you have to trust His love. You have to trust that He loves you so much He would never lead you the wrong way. You have to trust that He loves you so much He would never let You fall. On top of trusting your plans to Him, you have to trust your heart in His hands.

That kind of trust can be hard, especially for people who have been hurt before. It takes a lot of courage to give your heart to someone once it's already broken. But God is worthy of that trust.

He's the one who helps heal that hurt. He's the one who knows how to mend a broken heart. He is real love. Love that never stops, never lets go and can never fail. He gives love that can cast away all fear - the fear of rejection, of being hurt again. His love casts out fear and brings renewed trust.

But He can't do that unless You accept His invitation to dance. It's about letting Him into your life. It's about learning to love Him. It's about letting Him lead you. It's about learning to trust Him. It's about learning to trust His love.

Like any dance, life has more than one step. The most important step in this dance is accepting God's invitation to dance. Once you accept His invitation He will show you the rest of the steps. Every day is a new song to learn the dance to. So every day you have to say yes to God and follow His lead.

When you say yes, it frees you because you are so focused on Him that you don't care what people around you think. It frees you because you know you're not making the wrong move. It makes you feel secure and protected because His arms are around you and your hands are in His. You feel loved because you are.

Today, and every day from now on, I want to say yes to God. I want to accept His invitation to dance. I hope you will join me and make Him the Lord of your dance as well.

Uncontainable

You're in your bedroom when all of a sudden someone knocks on the door.

"I have a surprise for you. Mind if  I bring it to you?" your friend asks.

"Yeah, sure. Bring it on in."

"Are you sure. I don't think it'll fit in your room." Your friend glances around, sizing up the place.

"Of course. It'll fit. Bring it on in."

You like surprises. You know the friend who is asking is trustworthy and always has good things to give you. So you accept the gift and wait for him to bring it in.

That's when he brings in a small object, unwraps it, and starts blowing up a life-size elephant. It gets to about half the size it is supposed to be, and it won't go any further. Your room isn't big enough to hold the gift from your friend.

"Maybe you can take that outside," you say with a puzzled look on your face.

"The air won't go back out once it's grown this much."

"But, it can't grow all the way in here. The room is too small."

So, this example might be a little bit crazy. I don't know too many people who could find a life-size inflatable elephant, let alone one that won't let the air out. But it was used to make a point.

That's how we are with God. We know He has something good for us. We want what He has because we know it's good. We ask Him to give it to us. We wait for Him to give it to us.

But then we set up limits.

We try to fit what He will do for us into our expectations. Instead of saying, "I expect You to move in ways bigger than I can imagine," we say, "This is where I am, and this is where You can go from here."

Recently, I was spending some time with God. During that time with Him, I asked myself, "Will I limit my limitless God?" I meant it to be a challenge to myself. I meant it to be a reminder not to limit Him. Well, instead of letting me think about it, God answered for me.

"You already are."

Well, if that didn't get me thinking about my supposedly rhetorical question, I don't think anything would have. God used it to show me how I have been thinking about a certain situation in my life. What I thought was merely having trouble seeing how I could reach my potential in a certain area was way more than that. Thinking that way put a limit on God.

God doesn't care about titles. He doesn't care what I think is expected of me. What He cares about is trust in Him - trust in His ability to do way more through me than I could ever hope to do on my own. He is a God without limit. He will take whatever room we give Him to move. A title doesn't matter. My expectations of myself don't matter. What matters is my trust in His ability to do great things through me.

So, the rhetorical question that God answered for me did make me think. It helped me take the limits off. And I hope it makes you think too. Know that God has big things in store for you. Know that He will give you whatever you expect, but expect Him to do more than you can imagine. Ask yourself if you will limit a limitless God.

I hope when you answer that question you answer, "I will not limit my limitless God."

All of Your Promises

Close your eyes. Dream. Picture your life the way you want it to be now. Picture the way you want it to be in five years, 10 years. Just dream about it.


Now open your ears. Hear this. "I am able to do 'superabundantly, far over and above all that we dare ask or think, infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams'." This is a promise -  a promise from God, a promise that will be kept. No matter what.


There's just one problem (from our point of view anyway). He doesn't always keep those promises in the time we would like Him to keep them. That's where trust comes in. That's where faith comes in. That's where patience comes in.

Think about this. A friend promises to bring you lunch, but you don't think he or she will follow through. Instead of waiting for their promise, you run to McDonald's to grab a quick burger. An hour later, your friend shows up with steak and a baked potato. You didn't trust him or her. Now you're too full to eat the food he or she brought you, and it's because you settled for a cheap substitute instead of waiting.

It seems crazy right? Why wouldn't you trust a friend? After all, he or she has proven trustworthy enough to earn your friendship.

We do this with God though. He promises to give us better than we can imagine. Yet we settle. We see how happy we think our plans will make us. We see how we can be happy right now. We don't trust that God has something better. If we can be happy, why wouldn't He want us to have it? Even if we do believe he has better, we don't have the patience to wait for it.

So we settle. We settle with what we have now, even if it's not God's best. We pursue things that may not be God's perfect will for our lives, and though they may be good, we're still settling for less than we could have if we wait.

Instead of settling, all we need to do is have faith. We need to have a faith that is complemented with patience. God does fulfill His promises. And He does it in His own timing, timing that will make those plans even better.

Nothing compares to His promises. We need to grasp that. When we grasp that, we'll have patience. We'll trust Him. And He will bring those promises into our lives.

Close your eyes. Dream. Picture your life the way you want it to be now. Picture the way you want it to be in five years, 10 years.

Now know this. It will be far better than what you just imagined. All you have to do is trust God's promises and have the patience to wait for them to come to pass.

Living Love

A small child stands in front of his mom. She looks down at him as he stretches his arms as wide as he can. "I love you THIS much," he says. She smiles because she knows he's telling the truth.

We all did that when we were little. We tried to show our moms and dads, brothers and sisters how much we loved them. And well, the only way we knew to do that was to stretch our arms out wide and say, "THIS much" with a giant grin on our faces.

How many of us still do that? How many of us still try to show those around us how much we really love them? I know I don't, at least not as often as I could. Why don't we?

For me personally, there are several reasons. First of all, it's hard. Showing love is showing emotion, and that's never easy to do. It's not always easy to see how love is received, and not knowing how it's received makes it hard to give. Secondly, I don't always want to. I'd rather receive love than give it. I'd rather sit back and take it easy. Third, sometimes, it just doesn't seem like people deserve it.

However, God doesn't care about all those excuses. (Yes, I called them excuses, because that's what they are. They're not reasons.) It was hard for Him to show us His love; He had to die. He didn't want to die. We didn't deserve for Him to die for us. He just did it. So we should too.

Here's a few lessons we can learn about love that might help.

1. We have to make a decision to love someone else. If we don't make the decision to love them, we don't have anything to show.
2. Love is active. People can't see words. People can see actions. If our actions don't match our words we're not showing anybody anything. Our actions will show people what we mean when we say, "I love you THIS much!"
3. Love is deliberate. This combines the first two points. We can't be deliberate about something if you haven't made a decision on what to be deliberate about, and if we're deliberate about something, we do it on purpose. Deliberate love makes a conscious effort to put love into action. It thinks about what it is doing. If an action doesn't match the decision to love another, deliberate love will change what it is doing.
4. Love is living. Anything living should be growing. The more effort you put into loving someone else, the more you're going to love them. You're going to benefit from watching them receive your love, and it's going to help you show them more love.

Living love takes time and practice. We can't expect to get it right as soon as we start trying. But we can start trying. We can make a decision to love those around us unconditionally, deliberately and actively. No matter how hard it is.

I want to be like that little child, always letting people see how much I love them. I may not stand up, looking up into their eyes to see their reaction and stretch my arms as far as I can. I may not always see their reaction right away like the child sees his mother smile and scoop him up into her arms in a giant hug.

But I want my actions to say, "I love you THIS much."

Small Packages

Ever had one of those really stressful days? How about a really stressful week? Or to be even more exact, a really stressful month or more? Even when everything is going right, there's just so much of it that you can't stop and think about how good it is. If you do get one of those off days when no matter what happens you're still relaxed and smiling, something good can still seem like a major gift.


That would be where I have been recently. Sure, life has been great. It's even seemed easy most days. But that's only because I put off all the stressful stuff until the last minute, which not only builds the stress but also makes the last minute even more stressful than it should be. My schedule is so crammed full of busyness that I get excited when I find even an hour of free time (which unfortunately doesn't seem to stay free for very long). This girl who doesn't seem to understand how to say "no" has finally learned what it means to have to.


It's in these crazy stressful times that I am reminded how much God really cares. It's in the crazy busy times when even singing worship songs and reading my Bible doesn't seem to focus my thoughts on Him that I am reminded I'm still on His mind.


For example, I'm going to review the way my week started out. Monday involved an 8 a.m. class, a tour of the local newspaper building at 11, class at 1 p.m., class at 3, attempting to get an interview at 4, prayer meeting at 5, dinner at 6:15, city council meeting at 7 (not at all by choice), actually getting an interview at 10, trying to get a stupid program to work that never did, and finally going to bed at 1 a.m. Tuesday's agenda included meeting for a group project at 9 a.m., class at 9:30, lunch meeting at 11:15, class at 12:30 p.m., class at 2, meeting at 4:30, worship service at 7, again attempting the video editing program, studying for a test I had early this morning, and again going to bed at 1 a.m. Not a lot of time to spend remembering how awesome God is right?


Well, God made sure He still reminded me. For starters, he gave me about fifteen minutes of relaxation in the midst of all my journalism assignments Monday night, because He gave me an amazing friend who will bring me a patty melt whenever I ask as long as she's awake. Tuesday, when I woke up, I had a headache and a dry throat. Almost as soon as I started singing a worship song ("Never Let Go" by Matt Redman), He healed me (which somehow took me about fifteen minutes to realize). On top of the whole not feeling well, I was also really tired from going to bed so late and because of it seriously considered asking a friend to pray for me so I could make it through the day. I decided to not overwork my phone texting a friend to ask, but three hours later, the same friend I had thought about asking sent me this text:

"Well I'm glad you're not stressed out about it. God I pray that You just continue to help Nicole keep the stress away and just take things a little at a time. God I pray You allow her sometime even if it's just walking to class to just spend talking to you and getting refilled. I praise you for the wonderful woman you have made Nicole and for how you are ever increasing the masterpiece that she is. Yay Jesus. Amen :) love you girly :)"

Even though I was already having a decent day by that point, that text made my day. God had sent me a little present - in the form of a text message - to say He was thinking about me. Even though I hadn't said anything to anybody about wanting or needing prayer, someone prayed for me. I was so overwhelmed thinking about His goodness that all I wanted to do was cry.

He didn't have to do anything big. Sure, He does big things sometimes, but He's normally behind the small stuff - the stuff that seems insignificant but really makes a big difference, the everyday things. For me, this week, it was drive-by patty melt service and a text message. For you, it could be hearing your favorite song on the radio. It could be a hug or a smile from someone important to you.

Look for God in the little things. He likes to give us those - small packages that change our world. After all, His first gift to us was only a baby. And that gift changed the entire course of history.

Throw Your Mirrors Down

When you look in a mirror, what do you see? This is not a rhetorical question. I really want you to answer it (even though I am going to give you the most obvious answer). You don't have to tell me your answer, but at least tell yourself. You see yourself. Don't you? I mean, that is what a mirror is for isn't it? Now, I have another question, how do you see yourself? Do you see beauty? Do you see your character? Or do you see all the imperfections? The one tiny little zit that nobody else in the world would notice? The one hair that is out of place?

Now, think about this. The greatest artist in the world has painted a picture of you. He used the best canvas with the highest quality paints. He gives every detail the greatest attention while still focusing on the big picture. When you look at that painting, what do you see? Do you see a reflection of yourself? Or do you see yourself as the artist sees you?

Here's the most important question. When you ask that artist to show you how he or she sees you, who is it? Who is the greatest artist in the world in your opinion? Whose artistic eye are you going to trust? If it's yourself, the picture you get is going to be the exact same as the reflection you see in the mirror. If it's another human being, he or she will probably include at least one imperfection in the painting, one that you'll never be able to erase, no matter how hard you try. If it's the one who created you and molded you, all you're going to see in that painting is what is beautiful about you.

I am part of a small group Bible study here on my college campus. This semester, our leaders give us a challenge every week that we are supposed to complete by the next week. Last week, our challenge was to write down how we think God sees us. I'll be honest, I didn't really take the time to write it down, but I did spend a lot of time thinking about it.

For years, I have been hearing, "God thinks you're beautiful. He always has. He always will. He created you. Who are you to say He messed up?" Honestly, it took me a while to grasp that, but I did finally get it about a year ago. I heard this Barlow Girl song. Two lines of this song say, "I'm looking into the eyes of who made me. And to Him, I am beauty beyond compare." After many times of hearing that song, something clicked. No matter how well I know that God sees me as beautiful, looking at my own depiction of myself doesn't work. I have to see through His eyes. Since then, I have done a pretty good job seeing myself as beautiful. There are still times when it's hard, but it's easier.

Recently, though, I have had some much bigger issues come up. I have questioned why God still loves me. I have questioned why He wants me to do what He wants me to do. I have questioned my qualifications for His love and His call basically.

When I looked in a mirror, this is the reflection I saw. I saw someone who no matter how much of God's love she had seen in the past week, still paid extra special attention to someone who didn't have the same love for her. I saw someone who wasn't strong enough to fix her own issues, let alone help other people through theirs. I saw someone who was always taking a step back instead of more steps forward.

Then, my Creator caused me to snap out of it. Through some very important people in my life, He let me know the reflection I was seeing was flawed. Over the last few weeks, He has shown me His picture, what He sees when He looks at me.

This is the picture He has shown me. He sees someone who is growing. Growing in love, growing in maturity, just growing. He's proud of where she's come and not where she's been. He sees those special moments when she is completely in love with Him, not the few when she is distracted by someone else. He sees His little girl, dependent on Him whether she acknowledges it or not, His precious child who means more to Him than anything on this earth. His little girl, who is always, always growing. He sees someone, who has had her share of mistakes in the past, but can now use those to lead other people. She can show them how to get out of those same situations. He sees a beautiful, still-developing leader.

Honestly, it's hard to remember to look at God's picture of me instead of my own reflection. It's a daily choice at minimum. On the really rough days, it can be a minute-by-minute decision. But it is always so worth it! It makes the day (or the minute) so much better!

So, in the words of Tenth Avenue North, "Throw your mirrors down." Instead, pick up the masterpiece the world's greatest artist has created. Look through His eyes and not your own. I promise you. It will be worth it.

Deeply In Love

Every waking moment is consumed with thoughts of that special someone. Your closest friends, no matter how much they approve of the person, get tired of hearing about him or her. When you watch that romance movie, your mind replaces the two leads with the two of you. Every country song you hear makes you smile or hope you never have to sing it about this important person.

If you haven't felt this at some point in your life about someone, be prepared. It will probably happen to you too. It's a feeling that's hard to control, mainly because it feels so good. At the risk of sounding cliche, it's the most wonderful feeling in the whole world. If it's returned, it's even better.

It's love.

Recently, I have found myself experiencing this. Not that being in love is new to me. I have had some pretty major crushes in the past (just ask the friends who have had to listen to me over the years). But this. This is different. This is real love. This is something I never want to lose.

I have found myself in love with the most amazing person ever. In the words of Carrie Underwood, "He makes promises He keeps. No, He's never gonna leave." He loves me as much as I love Him, and I know that will never change. Even when I'm not giving Him all the attention He deserves, He still waits on me.

He's God.

To be honest, in comparison to how long I have known Him, this extreme passion for my Creator is new. I've always known He loves me. I've always thought I loved Him, too. But it has never been like this. In fact, I have spent years searching for love from someone else, someone else to give my love.

Actually, this passion is slowly but surely overcoming my most recent crush on a guy. For almost a week, I spent more time than normal with Him - reading my Bible, journaling (basically, writing love letters to God), and worshipping Him. For one of the first times, I found myself yearning to spend more time reading His love letter to me and return that love.

Then, last week, I hit a high point. I was with a big group of people who are falling in love with God like I am. But instead of knowing what everyone else was doing and saying, I was in my own little world, focusing on the love of my life.

As I thought about how I was falling in love with God, I thought about the crush this passion is replacing. I thought about how the next time I would see the person that I had been focused on, the attraction would not be completely gone. I knew I wanted it to be gone. I knew I wanted this newfound passion to consume me more than the immature crush.

The group began to sing the song "Empty Me" by Jeremy Camp. I very, very quickly made that song my prayer for the night. I told God I didn't want to have anything to do with that crush. I told God I wanted Him to fill my heart. Then I just sat there and let Him pour into me. It was the most refreshing, peaceful time I remember ever experiencing.

By that time I knew God was the center of my thoughts and would be as long as I let Him be, but I was still trying to figure out how I was going to deal with any left over attraction to the guy. It was then that a friend and mentor of mine started speaking. She said that she had seen a picture of a vase. The vase looked like a plant had once been in it and moved, because there were still some little specks of dirt stuck to the side. Then she saw water pouring into the vase. At first, the water got dirty because of the little bit of dirt still in there, but as the water continued to pour into the vase, it eventually overflowed and carried the dirt away. What she said the picture meant was that there is always still junk in our life - distractions, sin, anything that keeps us from God.

But... when we spend more time with God, He pours into us. He washes away all that stuff that would try to separate us from Him, that would try to steal our love from Him. That was my answer. I knew. All I have to do is spend time with God. Then this passion for Him would never go away.

So, what do I do now? I make sure I let people know who I am in love with. I talk about Him all the time. My thoughts are focusing more and more on Him. I always want to spend time with Him (which is not benefitting my homework at all), and I do it. I make time for Him no matter what.

And you know what's really great about God? He can give all His love to everybody at the same time. So, if you want to fall in love with somebody who will give you everything you need, somebody who listens to you, somebody who is happy when you're happy, somebody who will comfort you when you're down, someone who will always be waiting on you no matter what, then I suggest falling in love with God. Give HIM your heart. Spend time with Him. Read His love letter to you (otherwise known as the Bible). If you want, write your own love letter to God. I promise, it's the best thing you'll ever do.

After all, what could be better than falling in love with Love Himself?