My devotion this morning has had me thinking really a lot today. It was about talking the talk & walking the walk. Those are two completely different things. Talking the talk is so much easier than walking the walk, right? Today, many people can tell other's about how to life the Christian life. They can tell all the right things to do. You can easily tell others that you need to: Pray, go to Church, have a quiet time, and worship. But what does it mean to walk the walk?
Walking the walk, I believe, is the live by example. It's so different to tell someone the right things to do & then to follow up on your words by your actions. Today, people fear judgement, rejection, & failure. They are scared that others will think down on them if they live the right life. The bible says in 1 Peter 3:1 "Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over by observing your pure & reverent lives." I have to admit that it's hard to follow your words with the right actions. You never know what others think about you or if you really are doing the right thing. To be honest, it doesn't matter what others think about you. The only thing that matters is that you are living your life to glorify God. If your actions are serving God, then you are on the right track.
This past Spring Break, I went to Honduras to do some mission work. I have never had one day of a Spanish class. I only knew how to say hello, how are you, and what's your name. Other than that I was clueless. I was terrified that I would not be able to communicate, I would not be able to share the Good News and the love of Christ with these people. I soon learned that you don't need words. The only thing these people needed was someone to love them, to be there for them. Sometimes people don't need to hear what the right thing to do is, sometimes they just need someone to show them what to do.
the old saying goes: Actions speaks louder than words.
I want to challenge you to show others how to live a Christian life. Lead by example, through your actions.
"And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching." -Titus 2:7
Friday, July 24, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
The Beginning...
To be honest, I have no idea why I created one of these. Well, actually I created one so I could leave comments on others blogs. I don't know why I am actually sitting here writing. I have never really been one to blog. I keep a journal of my daily prayers and struggles. I have never really been a writer, actually I am a terrible writer. And with a blog, you don't have anything to hide. Anyone and Everyone can read. They can see all the things you have struggled with, all the things you have done & plan to do.
My purpose for this blog is to use it as a ministry. I want others to know of how God is really working in my life. So here's to the beginning of my blogging ministry. (I apologize for this being so long, it' the beginning so I got to start from the first day).
I guess I will just start with where I am now. Right now I am stuck, well temporally relocated in Birmingham, Al. I am here the whole summer to take the lovely summer classes. I was kinda excited about it at first. I have been at school for Jan Term and have really loved not having the busyness of campus events and waiting in lines for ice cream in the cafe. Summer is completely different than Jan Term. There is NOBODY here. I mean I have few friends here. I study ALL the time. If I am not studying, I am sleeping or eating. I even study while I work out && that's just sad. It's that intense. Needless to say I don't have much time for friends or a social life anyways.
I tried to hard to be at home, Nashville, this summer to take these two classes. I googled EVERY University in Nashville. There just were not any opportunities for me to be at home. I was bummed about this. I had no idea why God would close EVERY door in Nashville & open EVERY door in Birmingham. He even provided a job, which I was not even looking for, in Birmingham. I was like oh well, this is where I am suppose to be, let's do it!
So I arrived in June to an empty campus, an empty cafe, and an empty dorm. I was like wow. okay. perfect. hum. My June schedule seemed super busy: 9-11: Class. 11-12: lunch. 12-4: work, teaching swimming lessons. 5-8: Lab. 8-11: study. I was like okay this won't be too bad, I'll stay busy, have a schedule. Wonderful. Little did I realize that I still had more time on my hands than I thought I would. Before I knew it I found myself reading. I don't ever have time to read. I was very surprised. God started to use these books to really work at my heart & to really get me thinking. He opened my eyes to the idea of missions. Ever since I was a Freshman in high school I've thought about missions and have been on my share of mission trips, but this was different. I had no idea why God has laid this idea so heavy on my heart. I started to really pray about it. Do I need to minor in missions? Do I continue with my passion of helping others with Physical Therapy? Is this international missions? Local missions? I had no idea. To be honest, I still have no idea.
The only thing I do know is that in the book of Proverbs it says, Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. The only thing I know to do is to follow His plans for my life. I don't know exactly what those plans are, but I have to follow them.
Another aspect, I have never been secluded like I have been this summer. A lot of alone time. I don't really know what alone time is. I grew up with three sisters, you don't get a lot of time to yourself in a house full of sisters. I did not know why I was alone. Little did I know at that point that God would use that alone time & quiet time to put things on my heart. He used that isolation as a way to speak to me. I began seeking after him maybe three or four times a day. I began to journal like crazy, way more than I ever have before. I began to seek after others who have an identity in Christ, seeking their hearts & their advice. I am finally content with being alone. I enjoy the alone time, this time of complete isolation. I wish during the semesters, I had more alone time. More time for God to reveal His beauty to me. His plans for me. His passions. That's my goal for this next semester: More alone time, more time dedicated to serving God, one-on-one. I want to challenge you, as well, to have this alone time. Not just a quiet time in the morning & a prayer time at night, but also a few times during the day where you spend some time with God in prayer or in the Word and just see what He is telling you. You will be amazed.
That's the beginning of my journey. My story this summer, so far.
My purpose for this blog is to use it as a ministry. I want others to know of how God is really working in my life. So here's to the beginning of my blogging ministry. (I apologize for this being so long, it' the beginning so I got to start from the first day).
I guess I will just start with where I am now. Right now I am stuck, well temporally relocated in Birmingham, Al. I am here the whole summer to take the lovely summer classes. I was kinda excited about it at first. I have been at school for Jan Term and have really loved not having the busyness of campus events and waiting in lines for ice cream in the cafe. Summer is completely different than Jan Term. There is NOBODY here. I mean I have few friends here. I study ALL the time. If I am not studying, I am sleeping or eating. I even study while I work out && that's just sad. It's that intense. Needless to say I don't have much time for friends or a social life anyways.
I tried to hard to be at home, Nashville, this summer to take these two classes. I googled EVERY University in Nashville. There just were not any opportunities for me to be at home. I was bummed about this. I had no idea why God would close EVERY door in Nashville & open EVERY door in Birmingham. He even provided a job, which I was not even looking for, in Birmingham. I was like oh well, this is where I am suppose to be, let's do it!
So I arrived in June to an empty campus, an empty cafe, and an empty dorm. I was like wow. okay. perfect. hum. My June schedule seemed super busy: 9-11: Class. 11-12: lunch. 12-4: work, teaching swimming lessons. 5-8: Lab. 8-11: study. I was like okay this won't be too bad, I'll stay busy, have a schedule. Wonderful. Little did I realize that I still had more time on my hands than I thought I would. Before I knew it I found myself reading. I don't ever have time to read. I was very surprised. God started to use these books to really work at my heart & to really get me thinking. He opened my eyes to the idea of missions. Ever since I was a Freshman in high school I've thought about missions and have been on my share of mission trips, but this was different. I had no idea why God has laid this idea so heavy on my heart. I started to really pray about it. Do I need to minor in missions? Do I continue with my passion of helping others with Physical Therapy? Is this international missions? Local missions? I had no idea. To be honest, I still have no idea.
The only thing I do know is that in the book of Proverbs it says, Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. The only thing I know to do is to follow His plans for my life. I don't know exactly what those plans are, but I have to follow them.
Another aspect, I have never been secluded like I have been this summer. A lot of alone time. I don't really know what alone time is. I grew up with three sisters, you don't get a lot of time to yourself in a house full of sisters. I did not know why I was alone. Little did I know at that point that God would use that alone time & quiet time to put things on my heart. He used that isolation as a way to speak to me. I began seeking after him maybe three or four times a day. I began to journal like crazy, way more than I ever have before. I began to seek after others who have an identity in Christ, seeking their hearts & their advice. I am finally content with being alone. I enjoy the alone time, this time of complete isolation. I wish during the semesters, I had more alone time. More time for God to reveal His beauty to me. His plans for me. His passions. That's my goal for this next semester: More alone time, more time dedicated to serving God, one-on-one. I want to challenge you, as well, to have this alone time. Not just a quiet time in the morning & a prayer time at night, but also a few times during the day where you spend some time with God in prayer or in the Word and just see what He is telling you. You will be amazed.
That's the beginning of my journey. My story this summer, so far.
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