Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Friday, January 24, 2014
The only title I can think of it terrible..so I'll keep it to myself.
I received a great reminder tonight: being a believer is not supposed to be easy. Paul told us that, "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God."(Book of Acts...somewhere in Chapter 14, right around when he got stoned. Yeah, that happened...ouch.)
It's not that I expect it to be easy. But sometimes, I feel like it's too hard. Like I'm a terrible Christian because it's hard. I forget that it's supposed to be hard. It's when it's easy that I'm probably doing things wrong, hat I need to take a step back and look at where I'm becoming complacent or lazy.
Because it's supposed to be hard.
It's so, so true that comparison steals joy. I am constantly guilty of comparing myself to other Christians, saying, "Gosh, they're so good at this whole thing. I'm so terrible at it. They must be a better Christian than I am! Hurry, act like I'm a good Christian so that they don't find out I totally stink at this!" The truth is, we're all bad Christians and we're all good Christians, every single one of us, all the time. I, along with every other human, will constantly fall short in every possible way. Which is where Jesus steps in, filling in the gaps, perpetually forgiving my errors, and overall shoring me up with eternal grace. By pretending that I can be perfect all by myself, I steal from the amazing sacrifice that Jesus made. I forget that I need God and try to do everything on my own, which is when things really get hard.
I want to revel in the hardships, because that's when I realize how much I need God. In addition, it's when we work hard that we realize what matters and what doesn't. Nothing easy is worth it in the end.
It's not that I expect it to be easy. But sometimes, I feel like it's too hard. Like I'm a terrible Christian because it's hard. I forget that it's supposed to be hard. It's when it's easy that I'm probably doing things wrong, hat I need to take a step back and look at where I'm becoming complacent or lazy.
Because it's supposed to be hard.
It's so, so true that comparison steals joy. I am constantly guilty of comparing myself to other Christians, saying, "Gosh, they're so good at this whole thing. I'm so terrible at it. They must be a better Christian than I am! Hurry, act like I'm a good Christian so that they don't find out I totally stink at this!" The truth is, we're all bad Christians and we're all good Christians, every single one of us, all the time. I, along with every other human, will constantly fall short in every possible way. Which is where Jesus steps in, filling in the gaps, perpetually forgiving my errors, and overall shoring me up with eternal grace. By pretending that I can be perfect all by myself, I steal from the amazing sacrifice that Jesus made. I forget that I need God and try to do everything on my own, which is when things really get hard.
I want to revel in the hardships, because that's when I realize how much I need God. In addition, it's when we work hard that we realize what matters and what doesn't. Nothing easy is worth it in the end.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Thursday, January 16, 2014
On Being Single...fast forward
Almost two years ago, at the beginning of this blog, I wrote a post about my feelings regarding being single. They weren't so great. I waxed lyrical on my desire to be a couple, have a partner, so on and so forth. It's times like this that I realize how incredibly smart I am to keep a blog (patting myself on the back). Seriously, though, one thing that I really struggle with is taking a step back from myself and seeing the way that God is working in my life to change me. Comparing the blog post from two years ago to the one that I am preparing to write right now, though, really allowed me to see the changes so clearly. I cannot express in words how grateful I am to have a loving God that is willing to work within me and that allows forces me to grow and mature. Any-who. Onto my new and improved views on being single.
Honesty disclaimer: I still want to get married! It's still my greatest desire in this life. Sometimes I see a baby, and my ovaries weep with jealousy*. Just so that's clear.
*Thanks for that awesome phrase, Joanna. Since I read it on your blog, I think I've used it at least 100 times to describe various situations. I love it. It's so eloquent!
Honestly, though, in the past few years I have found so many things to be joyful about while being single. Mostly, time. I love that my time is my own and I love the ways that I have dedicated that time. I love that I have the time to cultivate deep, lasting, loving friendships, both new and old. I love that I can spend a whole weekend with Laura or hours sitting in a Starbucks chatting with a new friend. I love that I can sit and read books for a whole day...or more. I know it seems backwards, but I love that I can throw myself wholeheartedly into my work. The other day, I worked several hours longer than I had intended. I was productive, I was engaged, and I felt accomplished afterwards. While I still think about having a family--often--I find myself more at peace than ever before with where I'm at right now. I'm being productive with this time: I'm growing. I'm growing as a Christian, as a woman, and as a professional. Just as often as I pray for a family someday, I give thanks for this time and these opportunities. I also give thanks that it's God running the show because I seriously would have screwed the pooch by now. Never in my life have I been so happy to trust in the Lord and His direction for my life. And never in my life have I truly trusted, as I do in this moment, that God has the perfect plan for me and that, regardless of my actions, it will come to fruition.
I've had a lot to be thankful for lately. Right now, I'm thankful that I have the opportunity to see the growth in myself. It gives me the encouragement that I often need when I feel discouraged or overwhelmed or just plain weak.
Honesty disclaimer: I still want to get married! It's still my greatest desire in this life. Sometimes I see a baby, and my ovaries weep with jealousy*. Just so that's clear.
*Thanks for that awesome phrase, Joanna. Since I read it on your blog, I think I've used it at least 100 times to describe various situations. I love it. It's so eloquent!
Honestly, though, in the past few years I have found so many things to be joyful about while being single. Mostly, time. I love that my time is my own and I love the ways that I have dedicated that time. I love that I have the time to cultivate deep, lasting, loving friendships, both new and old. I love that I can spend a whole weekend with Laura or hours sitting in a Starbucks chatting with a new friend. I love that I can sit and read books for a whole day...or more. I know it seems backwards, but I love that I can throw myself wholeheartedly into my work. The other day, I worked several hours longer than I had intended. I was productive, I was engaged, and I felt accomplished afterwards. While I still think about having a family--often--I find myself more at peace than ever before with where I'm at right now. I'm being productive with this time: I'm growing. I'm growing as a Christian, as a woman, and as a professional. Just as often as I pray for a family someday, I give thanks for this time and these opportunities. I also give thanks that it's God running the show because I seriously would have screwed the pooch by now. Never in my life have I been so happy to trust in the Lord and His direction for my life. And never in my life have I truly trusted, as I do in this moment, that God has the perfect plan for me and that, regardless of my actions, it will come to fruition.
I've had a lot to be thankful for lately. Right now, I'm thankful that I have the opportunity to see the growth in myself. It gives me the encouragement that I often need when I feel discouraged or overwhelmed or just plain weak.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
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