He loves you

(Sorry in advance for the long post. I have to share this with you, because it is so good!)

I just finished reading an amazing book called Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller. Here are two quotes from the book that really spoke to me.

"It is difficult for us to see the gospel as anything other than a list of rules with which a person must agree..... Maybe the gospel of Jesus is all about our relationship with Jesus rather than about ideas... I think it is more safe and more beautiful and more true to believe that when a person dies he will go to be with God because, on earth, he had come to know Him, that he had a relational encounter with God.
There is moral law, to be sure, but moral law is not our path to heaven; our duty involves knowing and being known by Christ.... What we need here truly, is faith in a Being, not a list of ideas."

I've realized lately that the gospel really is all about Jesus. I mean, what is written in the gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John? Stories about Jesus. Stories about how Jesus loved people, forgave people, related to people. In the gospels of Scripture, you will not find anything like a gospel pamphlet that you might hand out; you will not find a list of ideas/rules that need to be believed in order to be saved. In the gospels of Scripture, you will find a story about a God who came to earth as a man named Jesus for the purpose of revealing to us what He is truly like and to make a way for us to be in a relationship with Him, to get to know us. It definitely is good news!

 

"If you can imagine the greatest love of your life, multiplied by millions, speaking affirmation into your soul, you will have in your mind the awareness of Christ and the community of the Trinity. All the self-awareness that occurred in Christ's absence will dissolve as Christ's love tells us who we are. In His presence we will not hate ourselves, second-guess ourselves, or compare ourselves to others; but rather, our lives will be filled with the gratitude of His presence, and we will know for the first time the glory of being human." 

Christ's love tells us who we are. Without Christ's love, we look to other people and things of this world to figure out who we are. But with Christ's love, we know that we are His treasured possession, His beloved children, His cherished creation.    

Dear reader, do you know that God loves you? Really and truly, do you believe it? Think about this: God knows you. He knows your struggles, your sorrows, your mistakes, your thoughts, your desires, your fears, and every single detail about you. And yet He still loves you, unconditionally right where you are at this moment. You can come to God just as you are. You do not have to "fix yourself" in order to come to Him. His loving arms are open wide to you, and He wants you. He wants to shower His love on you, pour out His blessings on you, and be your Father. Will you let Him?

Zephaniah 3:17
"The Lord your God is with you,
    the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
    in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
    but will rejoice over you with singing.”  

God delights in you, dear reader! He is blown away by how amazing you are! You have eternal value, because God created you and knows you and loves you. And nothing can ever take that away from you. 

You are loved!

New View

My views on the "Christian life" have been changing a lot recently. Since I've been attending different churches and hearing different ideas on theology, I've felt more free in my faith than I ever have. I never thought that there was any way to view theology other than the way that I've been taught growing up. But I now know otherwise. Here are a few quotes from the various churches that I've been to recently, that really helped me change my perspective.

"You don't need a list of rules to tell what's right or wrong. Just love God and love people, and you will end up doing the right thing." .......I've been living as if I am bound up by rules and regulations, thinking I absolutely have to do this and that and the other thing in order to glorify God. But really it is much more simple. All I need do is love God and love people, and God will show me what I need to do to bring Him glory. This is incredibly freeing! :)

"Christianity demands an elasticity of the mind. It should never be like concrete. Make a place for spontaneity. What God requires and what God accepts are sometimes very different." .....For me, this means that I am no longer obligated to believe the same things all the time. I am perfectly free to change how I think about certain things. And it's alright to have contrasting views from other people; not everyone has to believe the same exact things in every area of Christianity!

I now feel more free to love and accept /everyone/, no matter what, because that's what Jesus did. He ate with sinners and loved on sinners, and did not care what others thought about His doing that. Jesus came to be a friend of sinners, not to impose rules and regulations on them to make their lives more difficult. I read in a book recently that the probable reason why sinners don't like Christians is because Christians tell them that they have to obey all sorts of rules in order to please God. God is not looking for slaves, He is looking for people to love like He loves His Son. Our God is love!

(I know some of you might not agree with what I wrote, but it's ok. I'm just writing what God has been kind enough to teach me. I am not here to get in a debate/argument with anyone.)    

God moves in a mysterious way

God is so awesome, I want to tell the whole world all that He has done for me! But it would take an entire day to type up everything, and I doubt that anyone would actually read a blog post that was 100 pages long. (ok, maybe not /that/ long, but you get the idea) So I'm going to write about a small part of how my Father has blessed me.

Last week was one of the hardest weeks ever, due to various circumstances and my very sinful reaction to them. I can't recall ever being under satanic attack before, but I'm pretty sure that Satan was after me last week. (Now you're probably thinking, 'how can this be a blessing from God?' Just hold on, I'll get to that.) I was literally depressed, consumed by thoughts of my circumstances and how I deserved better and how I would be sad forever if things didn't change to my liking. I was not smiling at all, which, if you know me, is not normal. To be completely honest, I didn't see the point of living anymore.

Side note: This is no one's fault but my own. No one is to blame but myself (and Satan) for how I reacted to the circumstances that God perfectly planned for me last week.

Alrighty, on to the good stuff!

It's hard to say exactly what happened. But basically, God gently but firmly shook me awake and said, "Hello! You're wallowing in self-pity, thinking only about yourself and what you want. You imagine that what you desire is the only possible scenario that I could have planned for you. Stop this foolish, selfish, prideful thinking! I know what's best for you, and I have something so much better for you than what you imagine you should have. Trust me, I will never take away anything from you without giving you back something far better. I have an amazing future planned for you, my dear one!"

God dramatically changed my outlook on my situation. He changed my focus from my present circumstances to the bigger picture of what He may be calling me to. He greatly restored my joy, to the point where now I just want to smile at everyone I see. :) He reminded me of all the blessings He has given me, and of how much He loves me. He helped me to accept that things are the way they are, and nothing I do will change that, and then move on and find out what He wants me to do next. He is helping me heal and let go.

My Father is so kind, good, faithful, loving, patient, gentle, and I could keep going on and on. I'm abundantly grateful that I have such an awesome Savior and friend, who will never ever leave me!

Random Fact Wednesday (9)

Happy Hump Day! :)

Today's random fact about me: I clean up messes and fix things, even if they aren't mine. It's just a habit, possibly springing from the fact that I have a kind nature. For example, whenever I see dirty dishes in the sink, I don't think twice about putting them in the dishwasher or washing them. If there's trash on the floor, even in a public restroom, I pick it up and throw it in the trash (Don't worry, I wash my hands thoroughly afterward!) because I don't want anyone else to have to deal with it.

Several times, my "helpful habit" has led to me feeling like I'm the only one doing any work, but it's my own fault. Perhaps I need to cut back on how much I do for other people, or else learn to rejoice in the fact that God gave me a servant's heart and 'press on'.

I'll end with a random quotable quote from Pirates of the Caribbean. "A dishonest man, you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly. It's the honest ones you have to watch out for. You never know when they might do something stupid."

New adventure

Well, I moved yesterday, into a house with 5 other single girls. This shall be quite an adventure.

Our living room. Before:

 After:

My bedroom at my parents' house

All my stuff barely fit into my car. It was packed to the roof! But at least I didn't have to rent a truck.

I'll post pictures of the new house, once we get everything organized. :)

I never thought...

I never thought I'd move out of my parents' house before I got married. Yet now, this Saturday I'm moving into a house with some other girls, and I'm quite excited!

I never thought I'd be able to smile at a complete stranger and say hi to them. Yet now, almost everywhere I go, I find myself smiling at people in hopes that I can share just a bit of God's love with them.

I never thought I'd have the courage to talk with guys, aside from the formal, "Hi, how are you?" Yet now some of my best friends are guys, and I'm perfectly comfortable talking with them (and most other guys too).

I never thought I'd find anyone who would understand my love of clouds and nature. Yet now I know at least 4 people with whom I can share this fascination.

I never thought I'd care about other people's souls or thoughts of God. Yet now there is nothing that would make me happier than to see others grow in their understanding of and love for God, and I pray for them to that end.

I never thought I'd change or grow. Yet now, just these past few months, God has changed me in so many ways spiritually it is ridiculous. And He has brought me so much joy, peace, and freedom. :) I just wish I could give away all of my joy to my friends, so that they can be joyful too! 

Random Fact Wednesday (8)

So, I have a goofy side. Sometimes that's hard to believe, even for me, but what fun would it be if I was never goofy?
I like to:
1.) Turn on dance music and intentionally dance ungracefully, while singing purposely out of tune.
2.) Make ridiculous faces at myself in the mirror.
3.) Attempt to speak in a British accent, usually while quoting a line from a movie. (quite entertaining, since I pretty much can't speak in a British accent)
4.) At work, when the headset is muted at my end, I sometimes talk back to customers, laugh at them, or repeat back what they said in an exaggerated way.
5.) Make my own commentary out loud during movies that I've seen multiple times. (which can be annoying to other people sometimes)
6.) Have a long dialog with an inanimate object or with myself. The latter of which has produced some strange looks in my direction.... apparently I'm half crazy.
7.) Make sound effects for almost everything. 

In conclusion, If I'm ever goofy around you, it's because I'm comfortable being with you. :)

And, here's a daily odd compliment for you.
"You know what the difference is between you and a narwhal, aside from your physical features, dietary habits, social skills, mating rituals, interests, intelligence, and reading level?
Nothing. Because you're both amazing.
Isn't that crazy? It's like you're twins."

Random quotes and other stuff

"No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light." Luke 8:16

"Your fear is the only thing standing in the way of you receiving the gifts that God wants to give you. Your fear keeps you from doing things you know that God is telling you to. You hold back because you fear what might happen if you step out and surrender fully to your Father."

Wow, God is trying to tell me something. Through recent messages on Sundays, my Bible reading, conversations with friends, and random events, God is basically telling me to come out of my shell. 

For example, the other day at Walmart there were 2 separate incidents of people asking me if I knew where an item was. I just knew it was God giving me the opportunity to grow in my 'people skills', and if I didn't try to help then it would have been disobedience. I was able to help both of them find what they were looking for, and they were both so happy. It made me happy to see them happy. :)

So, I'm going to try my best to overcome this idea that I can't change how introverted I am. Sure, God made me an introvert, but that doesn't mean that I can live under the delusion that I will never be good at talking to people. Nothing is impossible with God, even for this socially-awkward girl!
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On a lighter note, here are some random quotes I found the other day. Enjoy. :)

"Be weird. Be random. Be who you are."

"There is a certain happiness in being silly and ridiculous."

"Never trust an atom. They make up everything."

"If you're lucky enough to be different, don't ever change."

"When I'm sad I just sing, and then I realize my voice is worse than my problems."

"To Do List: 1)Buy a sword. 2)Name it Kindness. 3)Kill people with Kindness."

"You are /never/ too old for a Disney movie!"