Day 3:Life

So many things are happening at this moment it’s ridiculous. Cray Cray doesn’t even come close to describing it. I shared that I am in the process of applying for YWAM and I’m going to follow through with that. On Monday I received a possible job offer that would start in the fall that is 100% in line with my passion of serving God by working with teenagers. I’m not sure which path I’m supposed to take. I know that God told me to apply to YWAM, so I’m going to apply to YWAM, but what if I’m supposed to stay here? It’s so frustrating/nerve racking/exciting/scary, and I’m not sure how I’m supposed to be living my life in the months to come.

I have about a month left of living where I am before I have to find somewhere else to live and I know that I have to give all of my life to God. I don’t know why I am okay-ish in giving Him my future plans and dreams, but not in giving Him my present life. I do know that I am supposed to surrender my past, present, and future to Him. So often I tell myself that I am giving everything to God, but I hold on to a few bits of my life. I’m not sure why. The things which I try to keep are only pieces to the puzzle, which cannot be separated from the other pieces or it cannot be completed. If I can’t give all the parts to God, I’ll never see the masterpiece. I know this. I guess I just need to start trusting in Him more than I have before and start surrendering to Him. I challenged my teens tonight to stop being lukewarm, and I guess this is where I stop being lukewarm myself.

Day two: Double Dose


I don’t know about you, but I’m really good at complaining.  Sometimes there are situations where it is appropriate to complain, like when you receive poor service at a restaurant,  or you disagree with your elected officials. Unfortunately most of my complaining comes in the form of whining, especially when God doesn’t answer my prayers they way I expect.  Lately I’ve been complaining about how it seems like my life is not the one God promised me, or what I thought He would have promised.  As I was doing my devotions this week, I discovered that my outlook on life was similar to that of the Israelites as they were wandering in the desert.

I had to go back a few chapters to read the background since it’s been a while since I’ve heard the story of Moses and the Israelites, but I learned that God led them by a cloud. At some point in their journey, God entered the cloud and heard the complaints of the Israelites. The adjectives tired and hungry don’t even begin to describe how they were feeling, but those were some of their complaints. God decided to give them the food that they needed, and used it as an opportunity to see if the Israelites were truly following His commands. Exodus 16 tells us how it went down.

“God said to Moses, “I’m going to rain bread down from the skies for you. The people will go out and gather each day’s ration. I’m going to test them to see if they’ll live according to my Teaching or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they have gathered, it will turn out to be twice as much as their daily ration…
That evening quail flew in and covered the camp and in the morning there was a layer of dew all over the camp. When the layer of dew had lifted, there on the wilderness ground was a fine flaky something, fine as frost on the ground. The Israelites took one look and said to one another, man-hu (What is it?). They had no idea what it was.So Moses told them, “It’s the bread God has given you to eat. And these are God’s instructions: ‘Gather enough for each person, about two quarts per person; gather enough for everyone in your tent.’”
The People of Israel went to work and started gathering, some more, some less, but when they measured out what they had gathered, those who gathered more had no extra and those who gathered less weren’t short—each person had gathered as much as was needed.
Moses said to them, “Don’t leave any of it until morning.”  But they didn’t listen to Moses. A few of the men kept back some of it until morning. It got wormy and smelled bad. (Verses 4-5, 13-20, The Message.)

At this point in the story, Moses is ticked! The Israelites ask God to provide , yet they still disobey His commands even though He has provided so much! It was this part of the story that hit home with me. There have been countless times that God has provided for me, and instead of thanking Him, I’ve slapped Him in the face. Rather than being content with what the creator of the universe has provided, I know I’ve complained that it wasn’t enough and sought after that second helping of blessings. Here’s my favorite part of the story-God still shows His love and provides! Check it out:

Moses said, “This is God’s command: ‘Keep a two-quart jar of it, an omer, for future generations so they can see the bread that I fed you in the wilderness after I brought you out of Egypt.’”Moses told Aaron, “Take a jar and fill it with two quarts of manna. Place it before God, keeping it safe for future generations.”
Aaron did what God commanded Moses. He set it aside before The Testimony to preserve it.
The Israelites ate the manna for forty years until they arrived at the land where they would settle down. They ate manna until they reached the border into Canaan. (Verses 32-35, The Message.)

Too often I find myself complaining when I can’t see how life’s chapters are going to end. Like the Israelites, I want God to meet my needs instantly. My desire for instantaneous blessings often causes me to miss out on the gifts God has already given me. I think part of this comes from living in a culture that seeks instant gratification. As Christians we are called to stand apart from our world, and this is just one part of that. I hope that you are able to see how God has poured His blessings into your life, even in the midst of trying times.

Day One: An Introduction. 

"Protein shakes are for the weak. I just shove a bunch of meat into a blender and drink it."

I know I did an introduction already on here, and it's lame/cliche, but forgive me. I've been up since 5:30 and have T-minus 42 minutes to get this thing up on the internet so I'm not behind on the first day. (EEK!) To be honest, this post is probably a decent representation of my time management skills. If it's not a life or death task/ responsibility and something that's more fun comes up, I choose the more fun option. Example: Tonight I  chose to go to a local college with some of the teens from Ignite for an open gym night and it was a blast. The speaker was a local pastor, and he was PHENOMENAL. His brief message was about how our experiences right now are preparing us for future ministry opportunities. Also: I love that he emphasized so much on the fact that God loves everyone, no matter their past.

Now you've learned two important facts about me: I procrastinate and I'm really good at rambling. I think I've already mentioned in previous posts about my passion for Jesus and plan to spend my life working with teens in some fashion. 

I got lost finding my way to the temporary employment service that I started with today. I ended up in a seriously seedy part of town. Are you doubting its seediness? I was at that point of frustration where I believed that I was going to miss my meeting when I saw a gas station about half a block away. My relief was temporary-as I neared the gas station, I discovered that it hadn't been one for a while and had been replaced by a limo rental service/ drug dealer hangout. Let's just say I picked up my pace and headed back to my starting place to get a fresh perspective. Oh, and some guy seriously started that I'mgonnamugyouwalk, you know the one where they're walking a totally normal pace and then they notice you and they start walking super quickly. Yeah. Thankfully I wasn't mugged!

What else is there to say? Hmmmm...I start a new job on Monday. That should be fun. I also have a slight tumblr addiction, but I figure I'm not the only one. I also post on Saturdays on a blog called Stones on Our Path. My posts make more sense there. 

I honestly can't think of anything else to say, so with three minutes to spare I say farewell!

PS: I'm not allowed to post titles. Does anyone know how to fix this?