It's Not About Me...

It's about Him.

The Lord has shown me that in a tangible way this week. It's not about me, It's about Him. And when I think about it, it seems so simple. It makes sense. It's pretty much like one of those V8 moments where you tap yourself on the forehead at not realizing something so obvious. But still, I obviously needed reminding. We (and when I say we, I am including myself as well) get so caught up in our daily lives that we fail to recognize how glorious God is. Also, how he forms circumstances in our lives to bring glory to Himself. God doesn't need us to do things just to give ourselves a pat on the back or check off another item on our list. He has already shown His glory by creating. There are some things He has created things that we don't even know they exist yet. He created the earth, the skies, the human race. He created us in His own image. Wow. We reflect Christ in some form/way. When I mess up and fall short, it is hard to look at myself and see that. But I know that I am His creation. I am His child. And I am created for a divine purpose, to bring God glory. I am not on this earth to accumulate accolades to add them to the list of accomplishments. When I study hard and make a good grade on a test, His glory can be shown through.

I was reading the other day. And it's funny thing how the Lord "coincidentally" not so coincidentally reveals passages to you. I know that this passage on this day was specifically meant for me. And it wasn't just I happened to come across it. Nope. Just to show me that He can, that passage I talked about, it was bookmarked. A while before I knew I needed it. If that's not obvious, I don't know what is. So I turn to it and start reading, and I was like WHOA. It was definitely one of those moments where I know that God can do anything but to see something in front of me that plain and simple, it took me aback. It was definitely one of those humbling experiences. Before I mumble on about it, I shall put the passage up. There's actually a few so here it goes.

Matthew 6:19-21
"Don't collect for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But collect for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don't break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
- I read this and I was just... wow. My victory and my treasures do not lie in this world. But my treasure is in heaven. This life can bring me down but my faith and my hope is in Christ. And how I react and how I live my life should be for His glory and a testament to Him to show His love to this lost and dying world.


Matthew 6:25-27
"This is why I tell you: Don't worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink: or about your body, what you will wear. Isn't life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the sky. They don't sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you worth more than they? Can any of you add a cubit to his height by worrying?
- We need not worry about silly things that will not matter in 10 minutes or even 10 years. We are only wasting time and energy. The Lord is our provider. He gets the glory in providing when all else seems lost. He is our hero. He comes in and saves the day. We may go through storms or trying periods in our lives. But the Lord is with us. He will provide for you just as He always has.

Matthew 6: 33-34.
"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be provided for you. Therefore don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
- We have nothing to worry about. Isn't it comforting that Creator God of the universe, of you and me "has our back" in a modern manner of speaking. He knows our ins and outs, worries and fears. Yet, even in our sin and our shortcomings, He loves us. I need not worry about this or that. He has everything taken care of. He knows the past, present, and the future.

The Lord is faithful. And He is a jealous God. He wants our attention. He wants a relationship with us. Us. Creator of the universe wants to know me. Me. He wants to talk to me. Little lowly me is loved by a phenomenal, awe inspiring God that can do anything. And here I am worrying about silly things when I can be using circumstances in my life to glorify Him. And using even the hard times to reflect His glory. He wants to know you too. He wants to know you because you want him to know you and you want to know Him. He wants what all of us want. Love, acceptance, relationship. We were created in His image. And I just want to take this side note/tangent to say that you are beautiful. He has created you in His own image to show the world beauty and to reflect his power and glory in a tangible way for us. We can channel this beauty and reflect just that.

It's not about us. It's not about me. It's about Him.

God is Faithful

So, remember when I told you like...yesterday that God is faithful and He provides opportunities in our lives and He is AWESOME!?! Well, God never ceases to amaze me. And when I say this, I'm not meaning it like just as the regulatory response but really just leaves me in awe at how amazing He really is. Like, just when I think or when I want to be a light for Him and act more like Christ, He challenges me in the most wonderful way. One of my girls that I mentor through our school came to me and talked to me after class and she was sharing with me and just talking about what she has gone through and her struggles. And I got to share the love and the forgiveness of Christ with her. She ended up accepting Jesus into her heart today. God is SO good! Just when I think that I am not sufficient, I am weak. But He is strong. And he makes me stronger and He has my back.

I haven't shared this yet on this blog but I have been feeling a call to missions for a while to go somewhere international. I was waiting on God to tell me when and where. When the opportunity for Spain with my college group presented itself I was like, okay God. I'm guessing that this is it. I still wasn't too sure. But as time has passed on, with being in the Word and really praying and meditating over it, I believe that Spain is it. I couldn't be more excited! And even though my thoughts and insecurities weren't openly expressed, they were still there. In my subconscious and in the back of my mind, I was like but God, I just submitted and gave my life to You a little over a year ago. Who am I to think that I can lead people to Christ when I feel so immature and green in my faith. But God has been faithful and I know now that those insecurities come straight from the devil trying to convince me that I was inadequate and playing on my weakness that I'm not enough.

But as I said before, the Lord always finds a way to reassure His children. And I definitely felt that today after I had the chance to lead my now sister in Christ, Claudia, to a relationship with Jesus Christ. It was just as much I believe an eye opening experience for me as it was for her. I definitely think and believe that God utilized being a mentor and my obedience and willingness to bring someone to Himself. And it's really interesting because I was just telling God that I needed signs for what I am supposed to do. I need a sign for Spain. That was the main thing. And I think that God definitely delivered on that request. He took my insecurities and showed me in a real way that with Him, anything is possible. That if I just trust in Him, He can do anything He wants to through me.

He is teaching me new things everyday. And this was one of the best lessons He could teach me. Because now, I have a new sister in Christ! Her name is now written in the Lambs Book of Life. And the fact that God can use me to do that, I was and still am thrilled. God continues to be good. He shows me everyday even the things I know, He shows me in real ways that He is sufficient. He is really all we need. It is so comforting that the Creator of the Universe is on my side. He always has my back. I know especially now not to doubt myself. Because with God by my side, I can do anything. Literally, anything. Until next time :)

Too Blessed, Too Stressed

Well ladies and gentleman, it is getting about that time...the end of the semester I mean. The time when everyone is just a little more stressed than usual. You're winding down to the home stretch. Did you know we have a little under a month before Thanksgiving Break? Yes. That means a whole lot to cram into a month before exams start. Sounds fun doesn't it? Maybe a little crazy even? That's the life of a college student. My life. And you know what the crazy thing is that I wouldn't trade it for the world. I love college. I love even the challenges and the constant reminders that He is in control. Everything is up to the Creator of the universe. Kind of nice isn't it? I think so. But see the thing is that the human in me still seems to still get stressed. No matter how much I try and no matter how much I see God's provision and hand in everything I do. Like for example, I had 2 tests today one right after the other. And I was supposed to have a Biology test tomorrow. But like I said, the Lord provides and the biology test was moved to Monday. But yet I still spent like most of the week up until Wednesday worrying about it. It just shows how He is faithful and that when I am weak, He is strong. And I have to continually remind myself of that because I definitely forget even though I try not to. I remember that I still mess up and I still fall. But the great news is that I know He's there to catch me. My stress and my worries are nothing for my God. I know that I should remember before I get too stressed that He is and always will be in control. I will be too blessed to be stressed. That is my goal. I may need some reminding very soon with everything piling up. You can be my witness and try to help keep me in check. Stay tuned for next time for who knows what stories there will be in this crazy college girl world! So until next time :)

What Do I Know?

There is a video that is supposed to be posted above. If it's not, I apologize. This song has been stuck in my head for the past couple of weeks. I just can't seem to shake it. It's not a bad thing because it's a fantastic song. I think that this song was put in my head because a lot of the times, God becomes so comfortable to us. He becomes natural. At least for me, He becomes almost too natural. Too comfortable that we do not realize the full impact of who He really is. Now don't get me wrong, there needs to be that strong relationship between us and Christ. But I think it gets to the point to where we forget or don't realize ALL of who Christ is. What do we really know of Holy? I know our culture and world has a definition of holy. But what does it really mean? What all does holiness entail? Christ is so multifaceted and so complex that even beginning to understand holiness and all of who He is can seem overwhelming. Overwhelmingly wonderful. God is the only One who is truly holy. So in my mind, we have no worldly comparison to the true Holy One. So my question again is..... what do we really know about holiness?? Can our minds even begin to comprehend what that really is? On this earth, can we really understand?

What really blows my mind is that the Lord makes Himself so available to us. He offers Himself to us fully; He is like a never ending book and we just have to open it and dig down deep inside. And what is so cool about that is that every time we think we have things figured out, there's another twist to the story. He is all things. And what's also really complex and cool? God has always been the same. He's always been the same person. He's the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He's always been this complex and overwhelmingly fantastic. He has always been Holy. He has always been well.....everything. It's really cool to think about.

And the coolest part of it all is that this amazingly fantastic person was willing to give their life. For us. And a cool bonus is that HE wants to get to know US. The Savior of the Universe wants to get to know us. Wow! Just. Wow. He wants us to know Him and He to know us. He doesn't want to just sit back and say, "Okay,I've done my part. Now you should know how awesome I am". Sure, He wants us to let others know of His glory and His grace. But He wants You to know Him in a totally personal and know how you take your coffee kind of way. I know that's probably not the best example but I just can't get over the magnificence of this. And He wants you to know Him.

So the thing is, do you think we would really know Jesus and His holiness if it were right in front of our faces? I would like to think so. But I don't really know. It was just something I was thinking. I hope that looking through and reading the Bible and through prayer that I would be able to know Him better and at the least catch glimpses of who He is and what holiness really is and what it means. I can only hope that He would reveal to me in time what it means.:)

Oh Management of Time

So... lately, I've been finding myself supremely busy. Like I have had a meeting or something like that every day just this week. I talked to my freshman about time management. I think the truth is that I needed what God was saying to me just as much as they might have. That hits me with a big realization... Am I spending too much time on other things and busying myself and taking time away from God? Taking time away that I can be at peace and spending time with Him and employ His saving grace and give back to Him? I know that doing these ministries here at school are great and I am enjoying the time to put into them. But lately these days what I seem to be giving the Lord is not enough. Like God is saying to me "Hey, you. Yeah you. I'm over here too." It just seems like the reading at night and prayer that I'm doing just isn't sufficing. I'm feeling a little restless and a little disjointed. I don't really know how to describe it. It's just this weird feeling that I'm getting. And I don't like it. Not at all. I know that I make mistakes. It's all because I live in the flesh. The only person that is perfect is the Lord Jesus Christ. But knowing that I can never be even close to perfect just seems to burden me even more. We are called to be like Christ. And I feel like I fall so short sometimes that I am the worst representation of what Christ is like. It burdens me that so many people are dying and will never know the love, the mercy, or the compassion of Jesus Christ that only He can give. My heart breaks at all of these things. He gave everything for me. He gave His sinless life for me and I feel like I only give Him the minimum sometimes. I cannot even fathom the love that Jesus Christ had for us that He would do something totally selfless for me who is more selfish than selfless. I know they say that you are your harshest critic but I fully believe that Jesus burdens us for things that we would look over, forget or miss. I think that I have definitely been missing out on time with Him. And I am going to vow myself to spend more time in the Word and more time in prayer because I don't want to give God just the minimum. I don't want to get so complacent with the way that my life is. I don't ever want to think that I'm good because Jesus saved me. That I'm good because I have put my faith and trust in Him. Because I'm not good. There is nothing good in me. It's all Jesus Christ working in and through me.