Thursday, May 31, 2012

We Are Receiving Even While We Are Giving?!

It has been far too long since I last posted, but maybe it is a good thing. I spent the holiday weekend at Timberwolf Lake in Michigan. It was a three day span of much need personal growth and realization, and a great time of bonding with my peers. I couldn't have asked for more to come from the weekend; I had a huge prayer answered. Then to really top off the weekend, I had a great conversation with my next door neighbors (whom I had never met before) about my faith and career goals. Perfection!
Anyhow, today I have decided to post two really neat lessons I am learning, and one really cool analogy that I feel perfectly, or as close to perfect as possible, sums up just about everyone's faith walk.

Lesson number one:
This lesson is something that is for my own personal growth and work. I had been aware of it earlier, but this weekend it really showed through how much I need to work on it. It is the simple fact that I need to start listening more and talking much less. I don't mean just stop talking and only listen. What I have learned is that while I seem to be helping people with their problems quite frequently, I need to really start listening to them. I need to not only listen and give feedback which is what I have always done, but listen in a way that I can really, really feel for them and exude love back to them, the love that they need. Then there is the talking part (this part is going to be hard, and more crucial). I need to start talking less. Yes, my gift of gab is inherently a huge part of my personality, but I am learning that maybe I talk so much that it is hurting me and others spiritually. I need to start talking less so that when I do talk, people really hear me and value what I say. Currently, so much of what I say is wasted. I talk about so many unimportant things, it is incredible.

Lesson number two:
When you have really given your life up to Christ (and often times, before this without us realizing it) and when we do service as part of His will for us, we receive much more than we give. I don't have a specific example for this, but the thing that I am learning is that when we see He is with us in all that we do and give, we are growing in Him. We are receiving much more in our spiritual life, in terms of joy, peace, love, and any other gift you can think of, than we are giving in materials, love or service. We could be exuding all of the love we have to offer while doing acts of service, but during them, we are receiving much more from Him, as He is supernatural, than we could ever give, as we are only human.

Last, the Amazing Analogy:
To start off, sorry for another Ashley Judd reference, but "All that is Bitter and Sweet" is too good to not quote! She describes her God concept as this, "a beautiful, mighty, flowing river, which I realized represented God's will. I thought of myself and how sometimes I wade right in, abandoning myself to the care and protection of God's will without hesitation. Sometimes, though, I sit on the riverbank, stuck in my self-will, watching the river flow right by, unwilling to take the steps necessary to put me in the graceful currents. Other times I step in, but only to my ankles, back turned on the river, staring at the bank, thinking about why I can't have it both ways, self-will and God's will. Or I come to God as I did tonight on my knees, crawling, begging for it."
To me, this could not sum up walks in faith with our Creator any better. As you probably know by now, about six months ago is when I really decided to let go and was in my form of being on my knees, begging for God's will for me. Also, as you may know, I am a Young Life leader. This entails teaching high schoolers who do not know or are disinterested about Christ's love. We also disciple those who know of His love. In doing this, we get to witness and help students through the struggles we all have. Since the time I had my "come to Christ moment" (or year rather) and began working with high schoolers, I have really seen the obstacles you can face as a follower of Christ; the obstacles that have us sitting on the riverbank or only ankle deep. Chasing after Christ is definitely not easy. As some people I know say, there are mountain top experiences in our walk with the Lord, but there are also very deep valleys. I like the above analogy because it clearly states why we have such experiences: our hesitation. It is basically the self and world versus the supernatural. We have to chose one, and often times it is oh so hard because we are in the world, the river, and forget that it is actually God we are in, He created the river and the world and all its glory. I believe this generally happens because the world is sometimes much easier to see and to hold on to, yet if we let go, the supernatural will really be so much more rewarding and refreshing.

So to sum things up: I need to sincerely listen, I need to stop wasting God's gift of speech, I receive much more than I give, and often times I just need to let go, but my faith walk will always have struggles.

I am currently learning so much about myself, others, and my faith. Much of which has been from "All that is Bitter and Sweet", then, ironically enough, reiterated soon after during preaching at services and things like camp. Funny how that works!

(***Thank you to Ashley Judd and "All that is Bitter and Sweet" for the majority of this post! Trust me, these thoughts are very prevalent in my life, but definitely not original to me! Also, if you are thinking I am obsessed with Ashley Judd, you will soon learn that I get like this with certain women, but I like to see them as role models or inspiration rather than an obsession.)

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Running: How to Turn Death into Life!

Hello friends! So, there are a lot of different things on my mind that I have considered posting about today, but since my last post was a bit long and kind of deep, I feel like I am going to go with something much lighter today! Ill just save the other ones for later. :)
Anywho, on this beautiful Sunday I would like to take some time to post about running. I can hear the groans now and feel like people may stop reading pretty soon. I am trying to bring light to this particular form of cardio exercise though! This post will be about how great running is not only for physical health reasons, but also mental ones!
So first off, yes we all know that running has various health benefits ranging from losing weight to giving us endorphins (a chemical released when doing exercise that improves mood.) I would like to focus on the positive things running does for our mood and even relationships with others. 
I know most people hate running and if you would have told me 5 years ago that I would be writing this post right now about how great and positive running is, I would have laughed at you. Over the last few years though I have grown to be a lover of running and everything it provides. 
First there is the personal aspect of running. As most people know, running can be painful and at times miserable, but first off, I am more than appreciative that God granted me two working legs to be able to partake in the act of running. Then there is the fact that while I run, to take my mind off of the pain, I have learned to do some of my deepest thinking. If utilized correctly, I have learned to treat my time running as an escape from the world in which I can retreat into my own head and really process what I think and feel about things. Running is a great opportunity to do this because I can do it alone, there are few distractions, and I don't have things like technology interrupting me. Also, being a Christian, or any of you out there with other beliefs could do this also, I have learned to use this time to pray and spend time with God! Going on a run is a great opportunity to do this because I am outside in the wonderful world God created for us, and I can enjoy all of the things He has blessed us with. To further show how great running is in taking advantage of my time with God, is running as a sport.
Running as a sport generally involves races. The following is something I never actually thought to do while I ran track in high school, but as I get older and try to challenge myself by running in 10k's and such, I have started doing it. This "it" that I am referring to is using my time running to really lean on Christ. It is probably something much more symbolic than practical; nonetheless, I have learned it is a great tool. While running in long races, or even when I am having a hard time getting through a run, I have started to pray like crazy that with God's help I can make it through without stopping. This isn't really to deepen my relationship with Christ, but is more my time of asking and depending on Him to help me strengthen my will power. Believe it or not, it works wonders. 
The last race I ran in, I devoted every other mile, 3 out of 6 miles, to either leaning on the Lord to help me make it through the race, or praying for those around me also running. Early on,  I was really asking God to help me find the will power not to stop, but by the 2nd mile spent with Him I was free to pray. Some of the people I prayed for were people running to lose weight, some were running to spend time with family, and others were running to support a cause like breast cancer. The awesome part about praying for these people was that even though they have no idea I was supporting them, they all had people supporting them on the side lines.
The last sentence I just wrote is one of my all time favoring things about the sport of running. Every race I attend there are always people on the sides supporting their loved ones and others, even if they don't know them. It doesn't matter if I am at a track or cross country meet, a marathon, or even a 5k; there are always people rooting you on. The sense of community that running provides is absolutely amazing! Everywhere I have been, people cheer for you even if they don't know you or why you are there; it is great! It is also amazing to see runners as they accomplish their goals and celebrate with other runners, friends, and family. Seeing someone who has just crossed a finish line with their family, or who finished their last goal in their journey to losing 50 pounds, or even someone who is a seasoned runner and just got their personal record time is a great feeling. Even if you can tell someone is in pain, they also always have this great since of joy and pride about them. Everyone at running events just seems so full of love and proud of everyone around them whether they finished first, last, or somewhere in between. What matters is that they did it!
So, not only is running healthy, but it can deepen relationships within yourself, with your Maker, and with others. Last, and certainly not least, running seems to provide this great since of sportsmanship, community, and love that I have never seen exuded in any other sport. It is simply amazing, and it reminds me how God meant for humans to interact.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Summer: The Lord's Test

To any of the lovely people who read my blog, again sorry it has been so long since my last post. Finals week had me a little preoccupied. But on that note, I would like to fill you all in on this up coming summer: what it will look like and the challenges it will bring for me.
First off, is what I will be doing with my summer. Basically, I will be on the go from day one...which was yesterday. I started my summer out by running a 10k; I had a blast! I will be running another one later this summer while I am in London. Other than running, I will be spending the weekdays at work, working 40 hour weeks at an office. Luckily I only have 32 days of work! (counting down much) I also get the privilege of returning to Lexington once a week and even get to spend a weekend there fulfilling my duties as a Young Life leader. This will include time with some of the awesome friends that I have made this past school year.
Now on to the good stuff. At the end of May I get to take a road trip with some friends to a Young Life property in Michigan (Timberwolf) for Leader Weekend. I will then be spending the last week in June at Sharp Top Cove, another Young Life Property, but this one is in Georgia. This time I will be a leader at camp! It will be my first camp experience at YL camp on the other side, and I am so excited! After camp, I get to spend three days at home resting and packing for my month long Study Abroad Trip to London, England! It is going to be a blast and such a great experience! Once I get back, I will be going straight back to UK to spend the last two weeks of my summer attending Spirit Week and Recruitment with my Phi Mu sisters.
As you can tell, I am going to be very busy this summer. With this being said, I have spent quite a bit of time thinking about all of the challenges, yet rewarding experiences that this summer has to offer. Each of the things that I will struggle with or am blessed with this summer will make me a stronger person and strengthen my relationship with Christ.
First are the challenges. There are the going to be various things that I will have to lean on the Lord for to get me through this summer. These include things like working in an office and for my mom (really not my first choice, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.) I am by no means saying I don't like my mom; I love her, we just have very different organization and work styles, and considering the fact that she is my boss, well it will be an adventure. Another challenge will be to strongly uphold my relationship with Christ this summer in all that I do. This may be hard because my community at home and my community in Lexington at UK are very different. At home there are many temptations that could take me back to the person I was before I left for college. I have made a pretty big change in my life since I left for school: I have really started trying to chase after Christ in everything that I do. So, as you may infer, this has really changed me. It will be a challenge to be home this summer because it will be my first long stretch of time away from the people who were there during this drastic change in my life. While I am home, I will be able to keep in contact with the people who so largely impacted me in Lexington, but when I am in London things will be a bit more difficult; another challenge in which I will really have to lean on my relationship with Christ.
Finally, I am at the many rewarding opportunities I will have this summer. To start off, I am taking the challenges above and looking at the silver lining, they will give me the chance to make my relationship with Christ significantly stronger. Then there are the opportunities that I have to spend at Young Life camps this summer: I get to spend a total of a week and a half investing in the Lord in my life and students lives! I will get to reflect on what He has done for me, help others to hopefully catch His vision, and love others with my whole heart in some of the most peaceful places in the US: YL properties. These are going to be amazing experiences in which I will be able to escape the world for multiple days, and I will get to learn a lot about myself while helping others learn about Him! Sounds completely amazing if you ask me, but hey, that is why I am doing it! Last is my trip to London. Not only do I get the opportunity to go to one of the most historically filled cities in the world, but I also get to learn about theatre for a month. Other than the immediate learning experiences, I get to experience cultures from all around the world because we are taking weekend trips to Paris and Edinburgh, and the Olympics will be in London during the end of my stay. For me, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I get to experience the world coming together for what I believe is one of the few semi-peaceful things we can do together, sporting events! I will also have the chance to take in what the world has to offer since I believe there is so much more out there than what I have already seen. Since I will no only one other person in London, it will also provide me with the chance to really branch out to figure out who I want to be and what I want to be passionate about while I am here on earth.
So, all in all, I am looking at this summer as an opportunity to learn a lot about myself, the world around me, what the Lord has provided for me, His beautiful creations, and a chance to grow with Him. I can't wait to see where this summer takes me in my journey on God's blue marble, but I know, no matter what, if I am always leaning on the Lord, I will grow tremendously this summer!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight." ~Proverbs 3:5-6

P.S.- Sorry about the longevity of this post!


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