Procrastination doesn't work with God...

This semester has been the MOST DIFFICULT for me so far in college (and I've taken Physics and Biology in the same term--twice), and according to my dad, life is apparently not going to get any easier. Not that I thought life would get easier...

With this heavy semester came a multitude of educational-based projects, plenty of response essays, and a ton of time-consuming, sometimes seemingly pointless work. Like a true college student, I tend to procrastinate, actually I'm really good at it--for example my 20 source annotated bibliography for the rhetoric theory class--due in less than a week, it was assigned in August, I started during Thanksgiving..

Back to what I was saying about procrastination, apparently God isn't a fan of our procrastinating.
He says in Luke 9:59-62

And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

The Lord doesn't want to be second or put off for anything, and He shouldn't. We should avidly seek him, and prioritize our other concerns. Christ has really been revealing this to me in my own life--some priorities need to change and I need to try and focus on Christ more than I have been. The world so easily wants all of our attention, making us put Christ on the back burner. With relationships, school, and work sometimes it is easy to compartmentalize, but sooner or later this is a recipe for disaster.

Just some closing quotes to think about--used like a true English major:

Living with integrity means: not settling for less than what you know you deserve in your relationships. Asking for what you want and need from others. Speaking your truth, even though it might create conflict or tension. Behaving in ways that are in harmony with your personal values. Making choices based on what you believe, and not what others believe." - Barbara De Angelis

We need to find the courage to say NO to the things and people that are not serving us if we want to rediscover ourselves and live our lives with authenticity.
Barbara de Angelis

Romans 12:12

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Recently, my life can be described as turmoil. The fall semester is in full swing which means applications are due, testing, assignments, papers, lesson plans, etc...I've been secluded from my friends and family due to my hectic schedule and haven't been seeking the Lord like I should be. This has resulted with a pretty poor attitude and me turning into Debbie Downer for the last few weeks.

As I was grading papers today for my placement teacher, this verse appeared right in front of me on her desk. The crumbled up paper taped to a pencil cup had the three phrases underlined. The image was like one of those heavenly moments where the perfectly on-pitch choir nails a beautiful chord and birds churp in the background. Although my moment of clarity was interrupted with a student grabbing the hall pass; the verse stayed with me all day.

Love this song.

"When God is your reason to live, you will never have a reason to quit."

Like Butter

Today was my first day of classes and I must say it was rather grueling. After a long day of standing in lines at both the bookstore and the parking tag line and sitting through two classes I finally made it home. As I began eating dinner I started searching for something to watch on TV. My choice(after searching my 300 something channels) ended up being a selection from my free movies portion of the Comcast menu--Julie and Julia. Of course as I watched the movie, the leftover casserole I was scarfing down became less and less appealing.

While drooling through the movie and contemplating my leftovers, one line that really stuck with me was something Julia Childs (Meryl Streep) says about the flavor of butter in her recipes: "You can never have too much butter."

Just like butter, Christ wants us to share our own flavor with the world...

He says in Matthew 5:13, "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men."

Have you ever really thought about the purposes of salt? It not only adds flavor, but it preserves and heals. (Sorry Julia..salt triumphs over salt in this flavor contest!) Our purpose as Christians on earth is to share our salt with the world, but in order for us to do this we must not loose our saltiness. We must keep our 'zest for Christ' or we are useless to the cause.

In the book I'm reading: "Stop Acting Like a Christian" Caine writes: "...Salt was never designed to remain in the shaker, the Church was never created to remain insular. We are called to live from the inside out both personally and corporately."

So as I watch Julie finds herself through cooking her way through Julia Childs cookbook (with tons of butter), the Lord encourages me through His Word to keep pressing on.

Balancing Life

What is the Judge supposed to write on the your card?

We are too scared to step out of our comfort zone that we are scared to take risks.

"We were never created to settle for mere religion. Jesus did not die so that we could have a religious belief system but rather a life-giving relationship with our Father. God does no want us to spend our lives acting like a Christian. He wants us to be one from the inside out!"---Christine Caine Stop Acting Like A Christian Just Be One

I just started this devotional book. Caine shares amazing insight to how we should be strengthening our relationship with Christ rather than just acting the part. Her humor makes this book a page-turner. She also brings it down to a level that people can relate. This makes her book motivational, but also challenging to its reader.

The Giver

"The Giver"

In one of my summer classes, our focus is to study Young Adolescent Literature. The class is online and we are required to read two books in the course of the class--one was The Giver written by Lois Lowry. The book won a Newbery Medal in 1994. Thanks to Wikipedia, here's a brief summary:

It is set in a future society which is at first presented as a utopian society and gradually appears more and more dystopian; therefore, it could be considered anti-utopian. The novel follows a boy named Jonas through the twelfth year of his life. The society has eliminated pain and strife by converting to "Sameness", a plan which has also eradicated emotional depth from their lives. Jonas is selected to inherit the position of "Receiver of Memory," the person who stores all the memories of the time before Sameness, in case they are ever needed to aid in decisions that others lack the experience to make. When Jonas meets the Giver, he is confused in many ways. The Giver is also able to break some rules, such as turning off the speaker and locking his door. As Jonas receives the memories from the previous receiver—the "Giver"—he discovers the power of knowledge. The people in his community are happy because they don't know of a better life but with the knowledge of what they are missing out on it could create chaos. He faces a dilemma: Should he stay with the community, his family living a shallow life without love, color, sound and knowledge or should he run away to where he can live a full life?

While reading this book, the Lord has been stirring some things in me.(It may just be my reading into the book too much like a true English major--but here goes) I can't help but see the symbolism of myself as Jonas and Christ, The Giver.

What am I doing with the message the Lord has given to me. While the 'memories' the Lord has given to us can sometimes be painful, He also has given us a beautiful hope for the future. As Christians our eyes have been opened and the training we have ahead of us is full of pain, suffering, and death in this world. In a world of grey--the Lord has opened our eyes to color. Sometimes I feel like Jonas, who lives a shallow life without love, color, or knowledge even though The Giver has instilled to be something more complex. As Christians, we are set apart from those around us because we know about the Gospel, but unlike Jonas we are supposed to share with others about our 'memories'.

What are you doing with the knowledge the real Giver has given to you?
Has the Gospel affected you in such a way that you want to "run away" from your old life so you can live fully?

Just some thoughts to ponder...

Cell Phone Vs. Bible - Nairaland - StumbleUpon

Cell Phone Vs. Bible - Nairaland - StumbleUpon

Summer Blues

With summertime in full swing I find it hard to drag myself to my classes. Yes, I'm taking the dreaded summer classes. This is particularly hard for me because I enjoy everything about the summer. I love the warm weather, beach trips (accompanied with the infamous sunburn), blooming flowers, and most importantly having a break from the school. As I grit my teeth through lectures on adverbs, dangling gerunds, the fundamentals of secondary education, I realize how selfish I really am. I'm so concerned with graduating on time from college that I let myself forget what a privilege it is that I'm able to attend classes at the collegiate level and I complain about having to study and do a little schoolwork.

I've never really thought about whether or not I would even go to college, it has always just been in the cards for me. I was more concerned about what school and what major to choose than sitting down and thanking Jesus for what opportunities I have. We are so ignorant, especially in America, to think that going to college is a burden. Most people in foreign countries would be thrilled to receive what we dish out for an college education yearly.

I'm not trying to be 'preachy', but think about it. If we look at all of the opportunities that we have here, we'll see that there actually isn't too much to complain about, even a few summer courses in the summertime.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17

Firm Steps in Christ

Like most young women my age, shoes are one of my many passions. I love a hot pair of heels, cute flips-flops, and especially a great pair of running shoes. Having good support for my feet--especially during work(I'm a server)is important because being on my feet all afternoon can be quite tiring. I also have to make sure that my shoes have some type of gripping on them as I quickly move around the kitchen during dinner rushes. Slipping with a full tray of drinks and/or food is messy and I try to avoid it at all costs! As I read through the Psalms, I can't help but notice a similar pattern with David. He is constantly speaking about taking firm steps in Christ in order to avoid messes. The Lord should guide our steps even today. Although our feet are not always steady, we always can rely on the Lord to place our feet firmly underneath us. In Psalm 37:23-24, he writes:

If the LORD delights in a man’s way,
he makes his steps firm;
though he stumble, he will not fall,
for the LORD upholds him with his hand.

I love that he writes that although he stumbles at times, the Lord will support us with His hand. What an awesome thought!
David also writes in Psalm 38:16

I wait for you, O LORD;
you will answer, O Lord my God.
For I said, “Do not let them gloat
or exalt themselves over me when my foot slips.”

David also asks God for support when he does lose his footing, especially when others tend to gloat at our mistakes. This is applicable today, as Christians do tend to slip, and the world scrutinizes our mistakes. I've never understood this. Proclaiming to have a relationship with Christ isn't proclaiming perfection, it is proclaiming our unmistakable imperfection. If anything, we are claiming that we cannot live without Christ because we do fall, and boy do we fall. My favorite reference that David writes in the Psalms refers to the grace Christ has for us. In Psalm 40:2

He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

No matter how far or deep that we fall away from Christ, He can take us and give us something solid to stand on. The Lord is so awesome.

Loving Out of Desire, Not Obligation

The Lord's greatest commandment to us it to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And the second, to love others as you love yourself." Matthew 22:37-39

Learning to love God and people is something we have to actively pursue. We do not need to do these things out of obligation or fear of God(not saying that we shouldn't have a reverent fear for Him). Sometimes we let ourselves file 'being a Christian' into the obligation category. We think that we need to act a certain way or do certain things(*cough* like attend church weekly and volunteer for the newest committee at church) in which our hearts are not in. Seeking the Lord should not only be something we do out of our reverence and love for Him, but something we do because we want to. By continuously seeking the Lord, He will change us and our desires to be more in tune with His. We need to train ourselves to seek the Lord in everything we do so it will become natural, and not something that we do out of obligation to Him or something we put on because we are labeled Christians. When our desires change to match His, loving Him and others will become natural.

"But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes;its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." Jer. 17:7-8

I love this image of a man who trusts in the Lord described as a tree that will not be dried up. A tree that will always be green because its roots are supplied by a stream. Every time we worry, we let the drought come and dry up our faith. The Lord tells us to have confidence in Him and we will never fail to thrive because our source of life is never-ending.

"Has your relationship with God changed the way you live your life?"

"We need to stop giving people excuses not to believe in God. You've probably heard the expression 'I believe in God, just not organized religion'. I don't think people would say that if the church truly lived like we are called to live." -Francis Chan

Until about a year ago, my relationship with God was about about life-changing as a cold McDonald's hamburger. I was living day-to-day, not seeking the Lord at all, and trying to compartmentalize my life. I did not have to depend on God daily, and all those around me couldn't tell if I was a Christian unless they checked my religious status on my Facebook page. I learned the hard way that Christ wanted to get my attention. Because my faith wasn't visible in my life, the Lord broke me--revealing my true colors. I knew I was lukewarm before God, and this didn't quite settle well for me.

The 'lukewarm Christians'--want to fit in at church and outside of church and use Christianity as a retirement plan. Christ despises this, and He says so in Revelation 3:16--He will spit us out. Out of all the things the Bible says about sinning against God and what we deserve--the Lord spitting me out makes me cringe. I know without a doubt I am guilty of this.

"The first step is acknowledging you have a problem"
Yes, I need an intervention. I understand that by GRACE I was saved, but until now I haven't let this change me. I believe in the reality of the Resurrection of Jesus and this humbles me before the Lord and should change everything I do, say, and think about. It should radically change my life. With every breathe of my being I should be thankful for the life I get to live every single day. I am truly blessed, Praise the Lord!

Romans 6:11-14 says:
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

Jesus loves me

"Jesus loves me, this I know
For the Bible tells me so..."

In the past, Christ's love for me was taught not experienced.

Christ's love for us should be an overwhelming experience. God loved us so much He sent His son---It brings to mind two verses. The first verse it brings to mind is Romans 5:8

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Isn't this an overwhelming thought! I can't even begin to fathom Christ's love. He died for us, even though He knows we are sinners. He was crucified because of our sin. Everything single thing He went through was to save me and you--and even as we sin over and over again. What a forgiving Father we have!

Growing up in church, I've known the words to Jesus Loves Me since before I was potty-trained. Yet, I'm still so arrogant to think that my little everyday problems are something that I should dwell on. When someone cuts me off in traffic or a food order gets messed up at a restaurant, I get annoyed. Christ's love should overwhelm us in such a way that it should influence our lives daily.

The Lord's greatest commandment to us(the 2nd verse that popped into my head) is Matthew 22:37:

Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.' This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.'

I love this version of God's commandment to us in The Message because after intelligence sometimes it adds the word 'energy'. I love this idea that we should be hungry and avidly seeking the Lord with all of our energy.(Can I get an AMEN?!)

By seeking the Lord daily and understanding how to really love each other, Jesus's love will begin to be unveiled.

Rejoice in the Lord

Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice(Phil. 4:4).

Have you ever really considered what this really means?

Rejoice, meaning to feel or express great joy, in the Lord. This verse speaks volumes to me especially now as finals are approaching. I'm stressed, fearful, anxious, and ready to be done with this semester. I find myself mediating on things on my "To Do" list rather than rejoicing in the Lord.

Phillippians 4:5-6 continues with:

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

It is so easy to forget that worrying is actually a sign of not putting our trust in the Lord. All of our concerns should be brought to our Father(1 Peter 5:7). April for me seems to be the busiest time of year(finals, papers, registration for the summer, end of the semester meeting/parties, work...), but don't let stress get the best of you! The Lord tells us to rejoice in Him, have you really rejoiced today? I find it difficult sometimes to fit in God---really? God needs to be fit into our lives? If you're feeling overwhelmed with life, spend time with the Lord, you won't regret it.

"Spring Cleaning"(no pun intended)

We all have been there--cleaning out closets, digging through drawers, and sorting through cabinets. By removing the excess we have accumulated over the past year, we lighten our load, ease our stress of a messy home, and most importantly---getting rid of the mess in our lives. Who knew spring cleaning could be spiritual? The Lord is completely rearranging my priorities, my thinking, and my dating habits. He is removing the filth and filling me with Him, and I have been awakened, and renewed(Romans 12:2).

I used to think that I had complete control over my life. I don't think I've ever been so wrong. I thought I could control my actions, decisions, and even what relationships I wanted to be in, romantic and platonic. After completely submitting to the Lord, my personal life has completely been shaken. I find myself re-evaluating my spending habits, study habits, and have made Christ numbero uno. But this task isn't easy. Yes, I just used the present tense. This submitting myself to the Lord is a constant, daily struggle.

Beginning with my dating life after my most recent heartbreak(still hurts), I painfully have given full control to Him. I'm having to learn to be single, which is something new for me. It is definitely is a working process. I've never not tried to focus on dating and being where I am(last year of college, sorority life, work..) it isn't easy not to. Sometimes I have to sit and tell myself that whoever the Lord has in mind for me will be put into my life when I am ready because if anything, I have the best matchmaker around!(Forget what you have heard on TV *cough *cough e Harmony).

Speaking of television...the Lord has also been changing my desires. The things that I used to fill my time, and more importantly mind with, are no longer giving me the same fulfillment--that's how I know I'm spring cleaning my life. As a result, my family is becoming even more important to me, as well as, the music I listen to, and the people I surround myself with.(Work isn't even that unbearable!)

So I guess you can say 'spring has sprung'! I encourage you to self-reflect upon your life spiritually, and if need get rid of that junk, and organize and re-evaluate what is important in life.


(This blog is a journey of my spiritual "Spring Cleaning")