calling authentic Christians!

"...seekers have little respect for weak Christians. Deep down they're looking for somebody -- anybody -- to step up and proclaim the truth and then to live it boldly. And I've just got to ask, why can't that be you and me? Why can't we live authentically and boldly on our job sites, in our neighborhoods, at our schools, and in our world? What are we so afraid of? What's holding us back? We have the Holy Spirit, we have the Word of God, and we have the church.

We want to be contagious Christians, don't we? Then let's be real with people. Let's manifest an authentic identity and not be more or less than God made us to be. Let's be emotionally authentic and grapple with whatever life throws at us. Let's humbly admit errors when we make them. 

And let's boldly stand up for what we believe. Let's declare it and live it out, without apology." - Bill Hybles Becoming A Contagious Christian

God, grant me a spirit of power, of love and of self-disciple (2 Tim. 1:7)

ps

here's a brain tickler for you...

"As you manifest your uniqueness, you'll become a compelling model that will attract others to your source of personal freedom."

also,

If you want to know the energy of God (i.e., the resurrection life of Jesus) in your mortal flesh, you must brood on the tragedy of God. Cut yourself off from prying personal interest in your own spiritual symptoms and consider bare-spirited the tragedy of God, and instantly the energy of God will be in you. "Look unto Me," pay attention to the objective source and the subjective energy will be there. We lose power if we do not concentrate on the right thing. The effect of the Cross is salvation, sanctification, healing, etc., but we are not to preach any of these, we are to preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The proclaiming of Jesus will do its own work. Concentrate on God's center in your preaching, and though your crowd may apparently pay no attention, they can never be the same again. If I talk my own talk, it is of no more importance to you than your talk is to me; but if I talk the truth of God, you will meet it again and so will I. We have to concentrate on the great point of spiritual energy -- the Cross, to keep in contact with that center where all the power lies, and the energy will be let loose. In holiness movements and spiritual experience meetings the concentration is apt to be put not on the Cross of Christ, but on the effects of the Cross. 

The feebleness of the churches is being criticized today, and the criticism is justified. One reason for the feebleness is that there has not been this concentration of spiritual energy; we have not brooded enough on the tragedy of Calvary or on the meaning of Redemption. 

- Oswald Chambers My Utmost for His Highest (Nov. 26th)

I've read and reread this over a few times today and I'm still having a hard time comprehending it. So far, what I've gotten out of it is two-fold. One, it points me back to God's gentle reminder of salvation and joy. Two, it reminds me of Pastor Rick's message from this weekend. Point them to the Cross and to Jesus - that's it!

"dysfunctional" family?

last night after church a few friends of mine decided to cook dinner together and eat like a family. it was fun. honestly, i don't know when the last time was that i had a family dinner.

contentment

i looked up this word (actually content) on dictionary.com and this is what it said: satisfied with what one is or has; not wanting more or anything else. let's break it down...

"satisfied with what one is" - no

i'm 23 years old. i haven't graduated from college and i'm not sure when that will happen. i'm working daycare basically and i can't afford to live on my own.

"or has" - not really

i'm financially drowning.

"not wanting more or anything else" - nope

i DO want more! not like more money (well, kind of). i just want more of life!

sometimes i wish i could pick up my life and move it somewhere else. i wish i had new friends, a new job... a new life. but then i think about the reality and that "dream" quickly dies. i think about how hard it would be to pick up and move somewhere new. how hard it would be to make new friend and how i don't think that i could do it. but something's just not right here. 

after all this thought i'm quickly reminded of a little verse in Hebrews. 

"be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'"    CONVICTION!

God, what do i do?

bronchitis among other things

i'm not doctor but i've diagnosed myself with bronchitis. WHY? well, because 1) i've had it before and i know the symptoms and 2) because i've been sick for A WEEK! now coughing (more like hacking my lungs out). sad day.

here's the other things.

this past weekend was a blast! here's a quick update...

FRIday: worked, worked, worked ALL DAY until about 10pm. after work my friend earl and i met up with some other friends. we were trying to decide what we were going to do so we made cookies (which i've already blogged about -- previous blog). that was a late night.

SATURday: i slept in! :) i lounged around all day (remember that i'm sick), i took a bath and i read. i didn't get up and get ready until about 5pm. my friend ashley was having a birthday celebration. i met up with some friends at BJs around 6pm and they all ate. after BJs was when the real party began! we went to pump it up. i was SO excited to go and just act like a kid for a few hours. IT WAS AMAZING!!! i almost gave myself a black eye and we had some other injuries but it was totally worth it. after pump it up a bunch of us headed back to ashley's for a little chocolate fountain, s'mores, bonfire, and movie extravaganza. i didn't get home until 3am or so. 

SUNday: i woke up with the sorest throat and the stuffiest nose ever. i definitely overdid myself at pump it up the night before. but again, it was so worth it! sunday was another lazy day. i stayed in bed all day trying to rest. i got up and got ready around 5:30pm so i could get to church on time. i met up with my friend christie and after church we went to dinner. i love christie! we talked until about midnight, i had a blast! don't get me wrong, i tried being responsible with the time but it just wasn't working out in my favor. i probably didn't get to sleep until 1am and i had work the next morning. :(

over all a good weekend. i'd do (most of) it over again.

random

some friends of mine made sugar cookies last night. SO FUN! it's the second time in my life that i've made sugar cookies and the first time was when i was in elementary school and i mixed up the sugar and the salt... you can guess that those cookies didn't taste very good! :)

i didn't know this about myself until last night but i enjoy making cookies but i especially like decorating them. the problem is that i'm kind of a perfectionist though so i would take me forever to decorate 50 cookies. anyways, we were up until at least 2am making and decorating cookies! 

when i got home from my friend's last night i was having a little trouble falling asleep. i was thinking about how i really like sounds. i know, weird right? what i mean is this... EX: i live with a friend right now in the bedroom above the garage. i can hear when she leaves or when she comes home without even having to get out of bed. even when i was little i used to listen for the creaks in the stairs when someone was coming up. i got pretty good at figuring out who was coming up the stairs even by the different creaks that were made. it's so strange but i love it! i just love to listen and i can image what's really going on downstairs.... the door opening, footsteps, light switches, refrigerator doors opening and closing, keys, stair creaks. LOVE IT!

and here's something completely random. i was having my quiet time with God this morning and i read this quote that i really liked. 

"In your own unique way you reflect the beauty, mystery, wonder, and creativity of your Maker."

it's really hard for me to comprehend this sometimes. I, me?, reflect God in my own unique way?! CRAZY! i know, i hear it all the time at church, God created each one of us differently and since He created us in His image we're all part of the character of God. but there's a HUGE difference from knowing it in my brain to actually believing it and knowing it in my heart. the Truth gets stuck on it's journey from my mind to my heart. i was gonna say i don't know why but the truth is i do know why. we have an enemy, the devil, who likes to block the truth. he's pretty good at what he does.

God, this is my prayer, the there's no blockage anymore. i want the truth, YOUR TRUTH to flow freely from my mind to my heart and back up if it needs to! AMEN!

...ps - welcome to my brain.

a couple things

#1  sweet quote: "...we must do our part; we must so live the life of Christ that we transform our culture - not merely impact it."

#2  sweet bible verses: "Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with and inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls." 1 Peter 1:8-9

"...restore unto me the joy of my salvation." Psalm 51:12

God keeps showing my the connection between joy and salvation. You can't have one without the other.