Answered Prayer

God is good ALL the time! ALL the time, God is good!
The Lord has been ridiculously blessing me lately, so I thought I'd share just how He's been answering my prayers.
1.) Dodgeball tournament was soooo legit! Over 200 people were there total with parents, teachers, and faculty. All of the kids were really into it, and my team turned out better than I can imagine! I mean really, what could be better than bright green wigs?? We as leaders, really connected with new kids and old kids, and it served as a great foundation for our ministry this semester.
2.) First club was crazy awesome!! I'd say there were about 50 kids packed into a basement. Then energy was sooo high and all of the kids were really into it, jamming out to songs, participating actively in games, and the biggest blessing was that they were so attentive during the talk, which by the way was absolutely incredible!
3.) The Lord gave me motivation to do work today! huuuuuuuuge answered prayer right there..
4.) It may sound silly, but a date to Fancy Dress. Now, i'm super pumped for FD(and my birthday might I add)!
5.) Boldness to go ask stores for donations for our Chi O chili cookoff. I was super nervous, but just walked in there and did it!
6.) I only got 5 hours of sleep last night, but wasn't tired today!
I could go on and on, but you get the point.. God answers prayer!
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, with prayer and petition, present your requests to God. Phillipians 4:6
I love this verse because it doesn't say good requests or important requests, but simply your requests. No request is too simple or silly to God. I love that I know that God doesn't laugh at me when I pray about it anything, even the miniscule stuff!
God, thanks for listening to me and blessing me so much with answered prayers!

Beautiful Creation

This week has been absolutely beautiful and I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to enjoy God's creation. I have been frequenting my favorite spot in Lexington, Jordan's Point. Ever think that God has made certain things just for you? Well, that's how I feel about this place. I feel so peaceful there, so aware of the blessings the Lord has given me, and just plain joyful. I get giddy every time it is pretty enough to go there. My latest joy is running there. Since I quit tennis, I have started running more often and have come to really enjoy it. Running is so freeing, like the world is your playground. You don't need anything to go somewhere, but you. I know for so many people running is torturous, but for me it's a release and a time when I just get to marvel at the Lord's creation and hang out with Him. What better way to hang out with the Lord than in His creation? In Hebrews 4:13, it says, "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight." And I feel that when I'm running, I begin to be less blinded by the world and see more of the things that are so hidden from my view so many times. I yearn to see the world as God sees it, and I definitely thing that extends from seeing people as He sees them and creation as He sees it.
Lord, let me see the world as you see it. Thank you so much for the joy you bring me through Jordan's Point and running!
p.s. I'm off to the high school, then Jordan's Point again!! also.. we as Young Life leaders are hosting a dodgeball tournament tonight and over 150 kids have signed up! I'm on Team Leprechaun and can't wait to chunk some dodgeballs at people! Debrief on this coming soon!

I like rules

I've always said that I hate rules, but recently, I've discovered that secretly, I love them. Rules are tangible. Something that I can easily wrap my mind around. I am good at following rules. Last night, however, one of my best friends set me in my tracks, when she uncovered that I love rules and specifically following the "rules" of Christianity more than I love my relationship with Christ. Ouch. It hurts. I'm not gonna lie. When the Lord convicts you like that especially by somebody that loves you so much, you know it's a big issue.

Rules are what I cling to, where I find my pride a lot of times. I am the rules queen. You tell me a rule and I'll follow it. Because I follow most of what I've considered the "rules" of Christianity, I have been WAY too prideful about my faith. I'm not gonna sugar coat this. Honestly, I have thought for a long time that I was a better Christian than other people just because I followed the "rules" of Christianity. I would tell you how strong a person was in their faith by how well they followed rules. I say all the time, oh yeah, I sin, which I know I do, but in my prideful thinking, I also think, but I don't sin as much as that person over there. It's a trap because my thinking that, is a sin in itself.

Also, I view following rules as part of my journey to perfection. And, yes, I was also convicted about this. I'm a goal setter and a planner. Pretty much in every area of my life, I set goals and then work to achieve them. I put my faith into this same category as well. But, again, I was convicted that I will never reach perfection. Yes, I want to strive to be like Christ, who is perfect, but I will always fall short. Faith is not a journey that ends. It is a continual process. A lot of this stuff I'm saying seems like common sense, and I say it all the time, thinking I believe it. However, when I actually thought about it, I realized I didn't, which was another problem.

So, now I'm hurt, I'm broken, but the Lord has already been gracious enough to give me peace about this, and motivate me to change my perspective.
2 Corinthians 12:9But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
Now, it's a tough thing to do, but I boast in my weakness. I am NOT perfect and I truly believe that now. I will NEVER be perfect. But, I don't have to be because Christ, who is perfect, died for me. His power is perfect in my weakness. For when I am weak, He is strong. Conviction stinks, but it's just the Lord's way of refining you, so I find joy in knowing that the Lord is refining me always.

Heavenly Father, thank you for humbling me even though it hurts. thank you for always refining me and never giving up on this prideful child of yours.