Dreams

Lately I feel in transition. I've been thinking and it seems to me that people in their twenties, heading into college, in college or just out of college are full of hope. They have a hope that their dreams, passions and desires will come true. They believe that anything is possible. Then a time comes when those earthly passions are crushed or destroyed (ha I know this sounds depressing but hold on). We grow up hearing that we can do whatever we wish, we just have to work hard enough and make it come true. Somewhere between childhood and shortly after college many people lose that hope. Where does it go? Why does it go?

I believe that many people let go of their hopes and dreams because of failure- because doors have been shut. Failure is a part of this earth- heaven has no failure, heaven has no pain. So I've been thinking: if we are seeking Christ in all that we do and desire- do our dreams fail? I believe that when we are truly seeking Christ our dreams and desires are no longer what we want, but they become what He wants. When our heart becomes aligned with God's He transforms us into who He created us to be, He transforms our hearts, refines our attitudes and not only that but He transforms our dreams and desires.

Lately I've been thinking about what my hopes and dreams are. I've been reminiscing on who I was as a small person in elementary school and who I am today- how much has changed. Looking back on my past 4 1/2 years in college I see so much change in who I am and just in life in general. When I look back, though it can be really difficult, it is also very refining and growing within itself.

I've been wondering: are my dreams, my hopes, and what I do- are they really centered around Christ and have they been placed on my heart and are they being done solely for God's glory- or are they things that my earthly sinful selfish desires.

I believe that dreams that are focused on Christ, that are for His glory, that have been placed within us by God for His purposes will never fail. It is when they are for this world and rooted in sin and selfishness that they wither and die.

I've been praying for God to refine me so that my heart, mind, actions and dreams would be centered on Him and for His glory alone.

I am so excited to start this new part of my journey, but I won't deny that I am a little scared. I know that God will lead me exactly where He wants me to do His work and that I need to seek Him for all of my comfort and joy but sometimes it's harder than it seems. It's hard to think that maybe what I've been thinking I will do with my life may, and probably will, look completely different than what I've imagined. It's hard to let go.

I pray that we all will be continually filled with His unending hope, comfort and joy and constantly remember that this life isn't about us and this world is not our home.

"Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes from worthless things; preserve my life according to Your word." Psalm 119:3-37

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer." Romans 12:12

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes." Psalm 37:4-7

Apart from Him we can do nothing

This past week was the longest week ever. Camp everyday all day, then either vacation bible school at my church or working my first few days at my new job. After my first day I found myself exhausted, stressed out and emotionally drained- and that was just the first day (hence my last post). God clearly showed me in daily living that apart from Him I can do NOTHING.

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." - John 15:5

He showed me that when I try to do it all on my own all I get is weak, moody and defeated. The lies of the devil take over and my attitude becomes far what it should be. I've found that when I spend time each morning- no matter how long or short devoted to focusing on the Father and just BEING with Him, life is so much more focused and I'm a completely different person. It makes such a difference.

This coming week I will be taking on the role of camp bible teacher while the regular bible teacher is away on vacation. I'm so excited, and so nervous at the same time! I'm excited to be in the position for the week to share the word with these kids but nervous that my fears will take over. I'm praying that God would take over it all and give me His words. I'm also continuing to pray that the kids would be open to what He has to teach them at camp, and that His will would be done in their hearts.

This week I came across this song and it's been encouraging me all week to remember that I belong to Christ, as believers we chosen to be His children. Only through the blood of His Son we are made blameless and worthy. Each day belongs to Him and He holds us each day.

Blameless- Dara Joy Maclean

What manner of love is this that you would lay down your life?
You paid the price, the sacrifice for redemption
Now I am determined to know, Christ and Him crucified
Now alive and the power in me is You

I’m blameless
You call me holy
I’ve been forgiven, You call me righteous
I’m free
I’m spotless, You call me worthy
I am Your child
You call me chosen
I’m Yours, I am Yours

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession —to the praise of his glory." -Ephesians 1:3-14

Know that in Him you are forgiven. You are chosen, worthy, holy, blameless. You are His and apart from Him we can do nothing.

A Tuesday Rambling

Hey hey! So I was just wanting to write a little about life today.

1. I have become a baking fiend. I used to enjoy baking but not to this extent, this summer I've tried a few things and there is no end in sight!

Blueberry brown sugar cookies!

Last night since my family was away and I was up for some serious cooking experimentation I invited my best friend Kari over for a 'friendship appreciation dinner.' I made Parmesan crusted chicken, grilled vegetables and some grilled flavored corn on the cob. We topped it all off with some Ben and Jerry's Ice cream.

I just don't know what it is about this summer but lately I've become so interested in cooking & crafts I can't quite stand it! There are just so many things I want to try out! So if you enjoy free samples and/or are near me often beware: there may be baked goods coming your way!

2. This week at camp is the 4th of July parade. Each group comes up with a costume theme and then come to arts and crafts to bring it to life! I'm excited to see how it all turns out!

3. Last week the campers were learning about Hosea, after having a conversation with the bible teacher about it I realized I didn't know the story of Hosea at all (to be completely honest, I was always under the impression that the name Hosea sounded like a girl so I just assumed that Hosea was a girl- I know, insane). So I decided that I was going to read it- I was astounded by the story. Hosea is such an example of following the Lord's call despite trials,it's a story about God's redemption for all. I could not stop reading it. First of all Hosea was asked by God to marry a prostitute and Hosea did it. Then God gave them names for all their children with meanings like: not loved, not my people, and one was named after a massacre. These things (marrying a prostitute, the names of their children) were all so that God could use them to better share a message with the Israelite. Many of the messages Hosea shared with the people of Israel were based around their adulterous, stubborn hearts toward the Lord. God expresses His desire through the messages for His people to seek Him wholly, to turn away from the things that distract their hearts from Him and to earnestly yearn after Him. It spoke of how destructive idolization really is, no matter what you are idolizing, in Chapter 13 verse 9 God says through Hosea that when we live for the world and seeking the things of the world we are working against God. The book of Hosea really made me think about what I myself seek other than the Lord and what our society seeks in place of the Lord. If you haven't read it- do it. It's good stuff.

4. Really missing Togo and my team from last summer. I'm still working on reading through my journal from last summer and the stories almost always make me tear up- I miss it. I hope that someday God takes me back to Togo, but if not they will forever be in my heart and a part of my daily life. I know I've said it before about a billion times but Togo taught me so much and is still teaching me things. I'm so grateful for that opportunity and can't believe it's been a year already.

5. Last but not least, I came across this verse sometime last week and it's been on my mind ever since and so I am going to share it with you all:

"Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God." 2 Corinthians 3:5

Psalm 37 & Week 1 of Camp

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday." Psalm 37:4-6

Last night while I was checking my email and such before bed I came across a video talking about the above verse and it really got me thinking so I thought I'd share the thoughts with you! When we commit our lives to Christ and let the Holy Spirit take control and change our hearts and mindset, the Lord's desires become our own. Our purposes and desires transform into His own purposes and desires. He will make His plans come to be, and he will do it gloriously! This only happens though we we let go of our grip of control on our own lives, when we stop trying to make our personal plans and desires come to pass. When we make it about Him and not about us. When we commit our ways to Him and delight ourselves only in him, all of our ways, plans, desires, hopes, thoughts, attitudes, and purposes to Him- they will succeed. We were created by a loving, all-powerful, all-knowing God who has a perfect plan- not to trust him and give him full control seems ridiculously stupid yet every day I find myself more concerned with how I feel and what I want than who He is and putting Him first in every area of my life.

On another note...

It's half-way through the first 'official' week of camp- so far so good! It's definitely different being the arts and crafts teacher than it has been counseling in the past. Instead of having a small group of kids to get to know well, I get to see every child in the camp at least two times each week. I'm trying and praying about ways to minister to such a large amount of kids in a way that truly shows them Christ. I'm loving just talking with random kids that I see throughout the day and asking them about what they've been learning in bible this week. As an 'extra time' craft this week I had some of the groups make gospel bead bracelets where each bead represents a part of the gospel- I had the kids put each bead on and asked them what they thought each bead might represent. It's been so cool to hear how much some of these kids already know about the gospel and to hear some of them communicate it to their peers. I'm also loving seeing how unique each child's individual projects are- every. one. is. different. (even the ones that are trying to 'match' a friend's picture) it's awesome to see the individuality that God's given these kids. (I'll have to post some pictures of a few of the projects!)

Education & God's Sovereignty

So the past few weeks have been chaotic to say the least in the world of Pennsylvania education. The governor has proposed a budget that, if passed, will lower the amount of funding public schools are getting immensely. This means that schools are being forced to get rid of things like kindergarten, art & music programs, sports, and that they're laying off teachers. This also means for the kids in those schools that if there are fewer teachers their classes sizes will grow and their ability to receive the help they need will grow slim.

My education professors over the past four years have always said that if we can get out of the state to teach we should do it because Pennsylvania has an odd problem- we have more certified teachers than there are jobs, where all of the states surrounding us have the opposite problem. This is true now more than ever.

Last night as a class requirement I had to go to an on campus rally against the budget. My professor was speaking and told us that if half the class agreed to go she would cancel two classes and a quiz (when you through around incentives like cancelling class and tests things usually go your way). So I went, along with the rest of my class. It was by far the most political/hippie-esque thing I have ever been to. There was chanting, singing, and waving of signs. To be honest I was completely freaked out and out of my element by being there. Don't get me wrong- I'm all for education and wanting children to succeed but I don't think yelling and making mean phone calls to state representatives is at all the way about it. What struck me about the rally was that every story anyone shared was about them, how they could get further ahead if this budget doesn't pass, how they could make more money in the future with their college degrees and how the people who want to pass this budget are the enemy. They continuously referred to the political leaders of our state as the enemy.
The enemy? Now that's taking it a little too far. Being someone who knows very little about politics and very little about what's going on in the news and I'll be honest, I don't really know full extent of what is going on.

I do know that God is in control and that He knew that this was going to happen centuries before today. I know that things may seem bad, but that my God is mighty. I know that for how much people feel slighted by this that there is a God who holds the key to hope. Our society is flawed, it has been since the moment that Adam and Eve decided to go against what God specifically told them and sinned. We are sinful, we are selfish, we are detestable. The only cure for our faulty hearts is Christ, to live to glorify Him with everything. We can't go pointing our fingers and others, yelling and waving signs, because although education matters- Christ matters most.
No matter how discouraged, or upset we get by the things of this world we need to keep in perspective that our God is greater than our worries and fears, He conquered death and sin and He and He alone gives us the choice to belong to Him, to live for Him, to live in joy and hope and peace. Our God is sovereign.


"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18

"We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:20-21

"I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips." Psalm 34:1

"In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ might be for the praise of his glory." Ephesians 1:11-12

Praying for those I Love

Colossians 1:9-14

"For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

I hope that my prayers for the people in my life would reflect more of the things that this passage does. That prayers like this would be more constant- Paul says they never stopped praying these things for these people, how powerful is that?!

Pray that:
- God would fill them with the knowledge of God's will
- They would live a life worthy and pleasing to the Lord
- They would bear fruit and grow in the knowledge of Him
- Each of them would be strengthened with God's power and have endurance and patience
- They would joyfully give thanks to God in all circumstances
- Each of them would know that they have been qualified, through Christ, to share in the inheritance of the Kingdom

Also...
This week it really hit me (it's something that I've always known and believed but never really let sink in) that Jesus is alive. I know what you're thinking, "yes, well every christian knows that," but think about it, He died and was raised to life... then never died again- that means that He is just as alive today as He was the day that He was raised, as the day when Thomas put his hand in Jesus's scars. He is fully and completely alive!

"...Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us." Romans 8:34

How amazing is that!

Hope

This morning I was reading through Psalm 33 and fell in love with it. It gives such a wonderful picture of hope!

Psalm 33

1 Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
2 Praise the Lord with the harp;
make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
3 Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy.

4 For the word of the Lord is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
5 The LORD loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.

6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars;
he puts the deep into storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the people of the world revere him.
9 For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.

10 The LORD foils the plans of the nations;
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
11 But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever,
the purposes of his heart through all generations.

12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people he chose for his inheritance.
13 From heaven the Lord looks down
and sees all mankind;
14 from his dwelling place he watches
all who live on earth—
15 he who forms the hearts of all,
who considers everything they do.

16 No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.
17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.
18 But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
19 to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.

20 We wait in hope for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.
21 In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
22 May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,
even as we put our hope in you