free to follow

AHHHH!!! Right now, I am SOOO excited about camp! I think I had a little too much Mountain Dew... But anyway, I've been working on getting some devotional material ready, which pretty much means putting a few memory verses on poster boards and taking some notes on daily devotional plans. I'm using a kids lesson book that I got from Lifeway and compiling some stuff from that as well as incorporating the fruits of the Spirit! I'm anxious to see what the Lord has in store for the 6 weeks I will be spending at camp this summer. Fortunately, I will be home during July to reflect on what God does in June and to prepare for August camp. Also in July, I'll be planning Samford's yearbook, the Entre Nous, and getting ready for my sister's wedding on July 17, as well as going to Panama City for a few days! Tonight I was thinking about everything that is going on and happening soon. First of all, it is just so crazy to be in Peachtree City for more than half the summer, and also to think that this will be my last summer here. Furthermore, this is the first summer that I will be in so many different places, and so much change is happening. So, one of the verses I chose to write on a poster tonight for camp is Psalm 37:4, which is one of my favorite verses. The verse reads, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." I was reading a comment someone had made about the verse online, and he had asked, "What's the catch to this verse?" Sadly, this guy did not fully understand the meaning of the verse. I understand how it could be misinterpreted because I know when I first read the verse, I thought about it in a different way. Based on the wording of the verse, you might think that if you pray to God, asking for something, that you will get it because it is your desire. However, "delighting" in the Lord does not simply mean praying, and especially does not involve selfish prayer. I think the verse means that if you delight in the Lord, praying, confessing sins, asking for wisdom and strength and praying for others, living for the Lord in word and in deed, your desires and His desires will end up matching. When you realize that the Lord has given you your heart's desires, you will see His faithfulness and also know that you are following Him. For me, it's really hard to know whether or not the desires of my heart and the choices I make are for myself or for the Lord. The easiest way to find out is simply to pray and think about what I want to follow before I do so. Today, one of my best friends went to Panama City to start Summer Beach Project, which helped me in my walk last summer and still encourages me today. It is life changing, and it's been hard to see her so excited about it because I want to go back so badly! The community at beach project is so uplifting and Christ-filled, and there is almost no way you can't grow at beach project. Even though I feel like I'm missing a lot this summer by not going on beach project, I have chosen to follow God and go in another direction, and I'm confident that it was the right decision. I have prayed a lot about this summer, and I think that God is going to work everywhere I go this summer and in everything I do. I am thrilled to be able to share my faith with girls at camp, and I hope that God allows me to show them the love and joy of Christ. Last summer I learned how to share my faith, and this summer I follow God's will to put that knowledge to the test and live amongst young, growing girls who may or may not have a relationship with Christ. Telling anyone about Jesus is both exciting and challenging because you never know exactly what to say or how they will respond, but ultimately, it is what God commands us to do. Matthew 28:19 says, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," and how can we not obey the most important command He has given us? I don't have an answer for that, and I doubt that you do. However, we so easily fail to follow His commands. When we don't follow God's commands, we aren't following Him. That's it-- there isn't a "but" or an "it's ok" to be said. I confess that I am not nearly as intentional as I have the potential or be or want to be, and I pray that God will stir up more confidence in me to do so. We are free to follow Him, we just choose to do what we want to do most of the time. Unfortunately, until our desires match God's, we will not be given those desires, or we will at least not be happy with the results. There is a purpose and a plan for everyone who chooses to follow Him, but that requires trust and commitment, as well as a free spirit willing to take on any challenge that comes. Whatever your plans might be this summer, I encourage you to let God intervene, and to allow Him to show you and lead you, so that you can follow, delighting in the Lord, and allowing your desires to conform with His.

free to move

There are many definitions of the word "move." According to dictionary.com, it can mean "to proceed," "to take action," "to change from one place to another," "to affect one's emotions," etc. Moving has been a big part of my life this year. At the beginning of this year, my family moved to Shanghai, China, where my dad has been working for the past 2 1/2 years. Right after they moved, I moved back to Samford. This year at Samford, God has moved in my life in many ways. After beach project, I came to Samford on fire for the Lord and with the desire to be intentional in every aspect of my life. I had become a more content, confident but less prideful person, and I was ready for God to help me take even bigger steps in my faith. Fortunately, He helped me to do that through the good and the bad. No matter how hard you try for it not to happen, there is always going to be some bad, but the good thing is, God works through everything. Nothing can separate us from Him. Romans 8:38-39 says, "neither life nor death, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." And when we are with Christ, we will always be moving--physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally, etc. This August, my family will be moving to Jupiter, Fla. After living in Peachtree City, Ga. for the past 20 years (almost my entire life), it was a huge shock to find out that we would have to sell our house and move to a city over 11 hours from Birmingham. The move to China was a huge one, but I still had a house to go back to in Peachtree City, and now that would be gone. When I first found out, I was initially shocked and sad-- I would be leaving my hometown, where I grew up! Most people would react the same way. However, there is also a positive way to look at it, and when I realized that, it made reality so much easier to grasp. The reality of it is that God is in control, and He has blessed my dad with another job! Going to Florida is going to be a great opportunity, and with today's economy, it is such a blessing just to be employed. Also, they could stay in China and have to sell the house, and then it would be worse! Or they could move all the way to the West coast! Who knows what could have happened. What matters is what did happen, and what's going to happen, and that we don't worry about it. After all, God says we shouldn't worry about tomorrow b/c today has enough troubles of it's own, and it's so true. And, worrying about anything is simply a waste of time and energy. Instead of worrying about life, whether it be work, school, a guy, money or what you're going to wear tomorrow, let God move in  you by letting Him into your daily life. I encourage you to read the Bible and to soak it in and use it as a model for your daily life-- don't just let the Word flow out of you. Instead, let it flow through you and move you to become more like Christ and ultimately, help you to be more content, to bear fruit and to enjoy life. :)

free to love

Don't get too excited. This blog is not about my current or past love life. I don't have a boyfriend, and I'm happy being single. I'm content with who I am and where I am, and I know it will come if and when God wants it to. That's something I struggle with, but I've realized it's so easy to settle, but if you're settling, then it's not right. Therefore, here I am, a 20-year-old girl who has never been in a relationship before. Except for the most important relationship you can have, which is the one I have with Jesus Christ. Back in high school and even before that, I thought the only way I could be completely happy is if I was well-loved by everyone around me, and I wanted guys to like me. Honestly, most of the time, I wanted them to like me and appreciate me for the way I looked, not for the person whom I really was. Today, I'm not proud of that. I'm not too proud of who I was or of my skewed perceptions. I used to be a people pleaser, and I still struggle with it. I want everyone to be happy, and if I can have anything to do with that, I'll try to do whatever I can to make it possible. There's nothing wrong with that, unless you let it consume you. Other people should not make you content-- Christ should. If you depend on other people for contentment, you will constantly fight against the impossible. Christ is the only one who can make you fully content, the only one who can fully satisfy your soul. Christ tells us to love others, and to live lives of love, but He wants us to love Him the most. After all, He laid down His life for our sins, and He loves us more than anyone ever can. I think before I can love anyone else, I need to love Christ with all of my heart, soul and mind. I can confidently say that I love Christ, but I feel like I am still growing so much in my relationship with Him, and until the Lord thinks I'm in the right place with that relationship, He doesn't want me to love anyone else as well as Christ. I want to love Him with all of my heart. Not 99% of it, but 100%, and I just pray that love will shine on others, and that it won't be all about pleasing them b/c that's not honoring of the Lord. Instead, I pray that it will be about showing them the love of Christ, which is the love I want to have and share with others. We love because He first loved us. :)
"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, endures all things. Love never ends." 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

free to choose

Wow, it's Thursday night. This week I have been completely distracted by papers, interviews, work and being a little under the weather, and it has really made me think about our freedom of choice. We have the freedom to make our own decisions, and often we make them out of selfish wants and desires rather than for the "right" reasons. When we choose to be distracted by the real world and caught up in worldly things, we are both ignoring God and basicallly pushing Him away. The less time we spend with God, the more we distance ourselves from Him and fail to grow in our relationship and in our faith. Also, when we focus on ourselves and the world, we are telling God that we can be self-sufficient, which is impossible! God is the only one who can satisfy us, and we have to depend on Him because if we depend on ourselves, it will just create confusion and ultimately, disaster. Psalm 37:4 says to delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Some people might interpret this verse literally, and therefore believe that the Lord will give you whatever you want if you ask Him for it. Ask and you shall receive. . . But, I interpret it differently, and the Lord has a deeper meaning to those words. If we choose to follow the Lord, to submit to Him, to find complete satisfaction in Him, then He will give us our heart's desires-- but our desires will actually be His that He instills in us. If we are following the Lord and trusting in Him, we are making a good choice, and He will change our desires to fit His. He will not always give us what we want, because then He wouldn't be a sovereign, powerful God. He sometimes makes us suffer, but He blesses us everyday, so we should look for it and praise Him for it! You have the freedom to choose a relationship with Him, and when you do or if you have, He is always waiting for you with a listening ear and a loving heart. It is so important to come to the Lord when you need help making a decision, because He has the plan for your life. You cannot make it yourself because your world will start falling apart. Proverbs 16:9 says, "The heart of a man plans His way, but the Lord establishes his steps." So, I encourage you to come to the Lord before you make choices because even though you have the freedom to decide yourself, you also have the freedom to come to Him, and He wants you to do that. Choose to pray; choose to listen; choose to obey.

free to breathe

This weekend was one of the best in a long time. Friday night consisted of babysitting the three sweetest, cutest girls in the world, Yogurt Mountain, a movie night and a sleepover in our room. Saturday was more movie watching, dinner downtown with friends, Mad Gab and Catchphrase and another movie. Oh and 15 minute weather updates from Liz or from weather.com's radar maps. It's ok-- despite the sirens, there were no tornados, and the five of us did not end up having to all try and fit in our 5 by 5 bathroom in order to stay safe. That would have been a memorable experience. Today was the best of all. I started off the day going to Brook Hills with the group and listening to another one of David Platt's amazing sermons. Today's sermon was on Psalm 10, and David spoke a lot about having the right motives for adoption and foster parenting, and about how we are a wicked and weak people. One of the things he said that impacted me the most was that we must recognize that we are not rescuers, but that we are the rescued. Christ is the rescuer! Thinking about this makes me think of the self-sufficiency as well as the pride that often fills our hearts. I am definitely guilty of sometimes believing that I can be my own rescuer and the rescuer for others, while in fact no one can be that but Christ, and that is why we need Him! Why else would we? He is our Rescuer, our Savior! We all  need to be rescued, and He's the only One who can do it. Jesus wants us to come to Him to be rescued! I went to the Needtobreathe concert with some friends tonight, and it was one of the best concerts I've ever been to. Some of the lyrics really get to me, and one of the songs they sang connects to David Platt's sermon and needing to be rescued. Here are the lyrics to Lay 'Em Down:
Come down to the river
Come and let yourself in
Make good on a promise
To never hurt again
If you're lost and lonely
You're broken down
Bring all of your troubles, come lay 'em down
All you sinners
And the weak at heart
All you helpless
On the boulevards
Wherever you are now
Whatever evil you've found
Bring all of your troubles
And come lay 'em down
We're all tied to the same old failings
Finding shelter in things we know
We're all dirty like corrupted small towns
We'll bring our troubles
We'll bring our troubles, come lay 'em down
All you rich men
And the high above
All those with and without love
All you burdened, broken down
Bring all of your troubles, come lay 'em down

This is one of my favorite Needtobreathe songs, and I think it's encouraging us to lay our troubles down at the feet of Jesus and to allow Him to rescue us! When I heard it tonight, I thought back to David Platt's sermon from this morning and it made me really excited to be able to connect the two. I hope you are encouraged by it-- it's a great song. Remember that every breath we take is a gift from God, and don't take your freedom to breathe for granted. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Psalm 150:6