The Most Complex Mind of All

It's that season for summer jobs! I've been working a lot these past two weeks trying to get a little extra money for when I leave to go to school. Most people wouldn't even call it work, but since I'm being paid for it, I consider it so. If you haven't already guessed, I get paid for getting a nice tan, sitting around, and taking the occasional dip in the pool. Yep, I'm a lifeguard. But really, we do work, I've saved four people and saving people isn't always that easy!

I've been lucky these past two weeks being able to work at an outdoor pool. Minus the few days of rain and thunderstorms, the weather has been absolutely amazing. I am proud to say that I now have a watch, flip-flop, and swim suit tan! I absolutely love just admiring the outside and I've had a lot of time to do that this week. It blows me away. It makes me think of how complex and sovereign our God is. Can you even begin to imagine the mind of the One who thought up photosynthesis, the vivid colors of bloomed flowers, and animals such as birds that science says shouldn't even be able to fly. I am humbled by the great mind of God, overcome by how everything in nature works together so perfectly. Even getting a tan blows my mind; how our God even designed our bodies to adjust to environmental changes to protect us. It's unexplainable apart from Him and I can't help but see that mighty hand of God in our daily surroundings. 

Slow down from your busy day sometime to admire what's around you. Instead of getting frustrated in traffic, take the time to check out the surroundings. Take a walk or run outside instead of on the treadmill. Or simply step out of your door before getting ready for bed to admire such bright and fascinating stars. Don't ever get too busy to stop and admire such an awesome and complex creation God had provided for us! 

“Be still, and know that I am God” 

Psalm 46:10

The King of Patience

I'm going to be honest and say I'm not the best at being patient. I think most of us these days are in the same boat. We live in an age where we get frustrated if the internet takes more than 2 seconds to load, if we have to sit through two red lights, or worst yet watch three minutes of commercials before seeing the most suspenseful part of the show! By far, we, as a whole, are very impatient people. We want everything now.

 I've been trying to work on being more patient, but you know what they say, "Don't pray for patience because God will give you opportunities to practice it." I wish someone would have told me that in the first place! Just kidding. In the past few months I've had to struggle to be as patient as I can waiting to hear back an answer from the seminary I applied to. I just got an acceptance letter last week and I'm suppose to move in on May 31st, only a week and a half away! Now don't get me wrong, I am extremely grateful for this next step in my life, but man did I have to wait a while to know what direction that step would be! So now that I know I'll be going to Southeastern, I'm having to once again be patient and wait for my email account, housing and registration to go through! 

Have you ever got so tired of waiting and being patient that you kind of just give up and even stop asking God to see you through? We'll that's about where I was. I really felt like I was annoying God because I was seeking an answer from Him so often. Earlier this week though He spoke a solid truth to me in Genesis 18: 20-33. Abraham asks the Lord pretty much the same question six times in a row. "Will you destroy the whole city for the lack of [enter number here] good people?" Just as continuously as Abraham asks this, the Lord answers the same, "If I find [enter number here], I will not destroy it." Through this  repetitive interrogation the LORD never once loses patience with Abraham. Not once! If it was me Abraham was asking I would have cut him off the second time yelling, "I already told you!". 

So rest assured, you can always rely on God to be patient with you even in the most frustrating and seemingly badgering times. God will never lose His cool with you. He is always willing and waiting to listen in the most patient and loving ways. If you're in a situation where you feel you aren't hearing from God and you're tired of asking Him to speak to you, don't give up. He wants you to come to Him with the deepest desires of your heart. He will not become impatient with you! He is the King of Patience! 

So Many Changes in So Little Time

Well the next few weeks holds a lot of changes in my life. I finally heard from The College at Southeastern and my move in day is just around the corner. Along with that I'm suppose to have my 3 wisdom teeth out before I leave, along with a much needed hair cut, not that hair has anything to do with teeth. By far, this college switch is going to be a huge adjustment. Switching from a military school to a seminary; they can't be any more different. Plus you have to fend for yourself cooking wise at Southeastern, so I would suggest everyone to check in sometimes because I might die of starvation due to my lack of cooking skills! I also hope that I don't freak out on someone for being a little messy or having too much hair. Yes, we sure enough have a long road ahead of us. But it is for the better and it's where God is calling me, at least for now. So I'm ready to saddle up and hang on for the ride, it's going to be a wild one!

To Iraq

Okay, so I already posted this on my Facebook, but it has really impacted and challenged me to move, so I would like to share it will all my bloggers as well! This is a excerpt from Shane Clairborne's book "The Irresistible Revolution". I highly recommend anyone and everyone to get a copy and read it, every word. It if life changing and God is using it in an astounding way. It is also what God used to speak to me about starting C.O.R. (If you missed that post click here .)Get ready to be challenged, moved, and compelled to act.

TO IRAQ

I am going to Iraq because I believe in a God of scandalous grace. If I believed terrorist were beyond redemption, I would need to rip out half of my New Testament Scriptures, for they were written by a converted terrorist. I have pledged allegiance to a King who loved evildoers so much he died for them (and of course, the people of Iraq are no more evil or more holy than the people of the US), teaching us that there is something worth dying for but nothing worth killing for. While terrorists were nailing him to the cross, my Jesus pleaded that they be shown mercy, for they know not what they were doing. We are all wretched, and we are all beautiful. No one is beyond redemption. May we see in the hands of the oppressors our own hands, and in the faces of the oppressed our own faces. We are made of the same dust, and we cry the same salty tears.

                I am going to Iraq in the footsteps of an executed and risen God. I follow a Jesus who rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey at Passover, knowing full well what he was walking into. This Jesus of the margins suffered an imperial execution by an oppressive regime of wealthy and pious elites. And now he dares me and woos me to come and follow, to take up my cross, to lose my life to find it, with the promises that life is more powerful than death and that it is more courageous to love our enemies that to kill them.

                I am going to Iraq to stop terrorism. There are Muslim and Christian extremists who kill in the name of their gods. Their leadership are millionaires who live in comfort while their citizens die neglected in the streets. I believe in another kingdom that belongs to the poor and to the peacemakers. I believe in a safe world, and I know this world will never be safe as long as the masses live in poverty so that a handful of people can live as they wish. Nor will the world be safe as long as we try to use violence to drive out violence. Violence only begets the very thing is seeks to destroy. My King warned his followers, “If we pick up the sword, we will die by the sword.” How true this is has proved to be throughout history. We armed Saddam in the conflict against Iran, and we armed Bin Laden in the struggle against the Soviet Union. Timothy McVeigh, the most terrifying domestic terrorist in US history, was trained in the Gulf War, where he said he turned into an animal.

                I am going to Iraq to stand in the way of war. Thousands of soldiers have gone to Iraq, willing to kill people they do not know because of a political allegiance. I go willing to die for people I do not know because of a spiritual allegiance. The soldiers have incredible courage, courage enough to die for something they believe in. I pray that Christians would have that same courage. The command of the soldiers is handed down, through rank after rank, from a human commander-in-chief clinging to the myth of redemptive violence. My mandate is straight from the mouth of my heavenly King, through the lips of the Prince of Peace-to love my enemies-and yet I still falter. May we cling to the truth that every human is created in the image of God. Do we believe the children of Iraq are just as precious as the children of New York? A love for our own people is not a bad thing, but why should love stop at the border? We, the people of rebirth, have an allegiance that runs much deeper than nationalism.

                I am going to Iraq as a missionary. In an age of omnipresent war, it is my hope that Christian peacemaking becomes the new face of global missions. May we stand by those who face the impending wrath of empire and whisper, “God loves you, I love you, and if my country bombs your country, I will be right here with you.” Otherwise, our gospel has little integrity. As one of the saints said, “If they come for the innocent and do not pass over our bodies, then cursed be our religion.” May our lives interrupt terrorism and war, in small ways, in large ways, in moments of crisis, and in everyday rhythms. These are extreme times. And I go to Iraq as an extremist for love.

                “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me-the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” (Acts 20:22-24)

My Prayer for the Nation

So, even thought its not "officially" the National Day of Prayer anymore, we're still going to act like it. So as people across our nation are praying for America, I thought I'd share my prayer for the nation. 

Lord, today I ask that your people, 

every individual on this earth,

 made in your image and likeness,

 would come to know you, not just know about you.

 Lord, I pray that  they would humble themselves

 and seek your guidance and direction in their lives.

 I pray that your people would turn back to you in prayer, 

to know the power of a direct link to you.

 I pray that they would see the potential you have for them

and that they would change their destructive ways. 

I pray that this land would know your love

and would show it in their daily lives. 

Lord, I pray that these things would happen

because we know that according to Your Word

 in 2 Chronicles 7:14* that 

You will forgive your people, 

even those so far gone,

that You will heal this land

from corruption and destruction,

from hunger and poverty,

from hurt and pain, 

from crime and selfishness.

Lord, I pray this is the righteousness name

of Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior,

who overcame the grave,

and who is surly the solution this nation needs.

* "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face 

and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven 

and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."