The 7th Anniversary of thehouse is in one week.
^_^
http://www.thehousenlr.com
Saturday, May 23, 2009
my sister is wonderful!
She listened to me whinge yesterday, helped me reorganize a bit in my new room, let me stay the night with her at the risk of her own health, bought me a box of this nasty fizzy drink called Emergen-C, and gave me plenty of tea to ameliorate my sore throat. Anything else aside, terrific runs somewhere in the family and a few people have it in spades. She's one of them.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
not chicken
We had a Catalyst meeting Sunday afternoon which was good - everybody was tired, but it always feels nice to get in there and hear everyone's ideas, to feel a part of what God's doing through these people to make a difference and reach young adults in our metro area. It's exciting planning the 7th anniversary coming up too. Lunch was provided and it was catered from Moe's - yum! There were steak or chicken burritos, white cheese dip, salsa, and chips as well as water to drink. My plate consisted of some cheese dip and salsa with chips as well as a chicken burrito that I didn't finish all of. Since there were leftovers Rach encouraged us to take some home. Following orders I grabbed two chicken burritos and a steak burrito. My grandma and sister each had a chicken burrito when I got to their house which left me a steak burrito this evening. I've been feeling funky, but not like a chicken.
~~@~~ - ~~@~~ - ~~@~~
The past few weeks have been so busy that I feel as if my time doesn't belong to me, which normally doesn't bother me. However, every so often every little thing that people say or do becomes an affront to me, rubbing me absolutely wrong and inciting my ire. It can take a day or so for decompression to take place when it wasn't always like this. A funk just settles over me and leaves me cranky like an old moving picture camera. Failure seems to add fuel to the fire; my personal limitations and stumbles lend a sense of fatality and bitterness that ends up stewing inside and spewing out on anyone who mildly offends me, especially those close to me or those who I already have a tenuous relationship with.
Vent, vent, vent.
To boil it down -- I want less of me, to fall out of love with me and my cares. In following Christ, I must decrease and He MUST increase. That's where the breakdown really ends up being found, when I don't keep putting Christ first and seeking His will in my life. Self control, compassion, and honoring others is so much more important; those people I've been hurting when I'm in this funk are worth SOO much more than my comfort or making myself feel good.
There is tomorrow and the hope Jesus Christ brings in that.
~~@~~ - ~~@~~ - ~~@~~
The past few weeks have been so busy that I feel as if my time doesn't belong to me, which normally doesn't bother me. However, every so often every little thing that people say or do becomes an affront to me, rubbing me absolutely wrong and inciting my ire. It can take a day or so for decompression to take place when it wasn't always like this. A funk just settles over me and leaves me cranky like an old moving picture camera. Failure seems to add fuel to the fire; my personal limitations and stumbles lend a sense of fatality and bitterness that ends up stewing inside and spewing out on anyone who mildly offends me, especially those close to me or those who I already have a tenuous relationship with.
Vent, vent, vent.
To boil it down -- I want less of me, to fall out of love with me and my cares. In following Christ, I must decrease and He MUST increase. That's where the breakdown really ends up being found, when I don't keep putting Christ first and seeking His will in my life. Self control, compassion, and honoring others is so much more important; those people I've been hurting when I'm in this funk are worth SOO much more than my comfort or making myself feel good.
There is tomorrow and the hope Jesus Christ brings in that.
God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons. He's set us up in the kingdom of the Son he loves so much, the Son who got us out of the pit we were in, got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating. Colossians 1:13-14
Sunday, May 03, 2009
overcomin'
On Saturday nights at thehouse, the young adult service at First Assembly of God in NLR, Pastor Randy has shared two messages so far in a series called "Overcome." One of the main scriptures is Revelation 12:11, a strong verse that talks about those who belong to God overcoming Satan, their accuser:
Friday night I was zoinked after a long day of school, work study, Deaf Den (Deaf church service), t-shirt party and then running errands with my dad. Sadly, when I'm tired I don't try nearly half as hard to keep a reign on my words or attitudes. I got into it with my dad and was offended by whatever he said and took it all personally. Even while I was bickering with him I was apologizing for being so tired and argumentative. Psh. I was being an emotive slacker.
On the drive back to my dorm after dropping my dad off I was frustrated with myself for not keeping things in check, for letting loose my grouchiness on my dad, and for other general missteps of recent. "I'm just feeling like I'm not cutting the mustard, God. I keep messing up and not living up to who You have called me to be, to all I can be in You. I'm stubborn and thick-headed, Papa. Please teach me how to live like You've called me to, to show Your grace and love."
I got back to the dorm and decided that I would just brush my teeth, pray, and sleep since I was so exhausted. Then as I started reading it felt like God spoke something to me through that verse.
I had been kind of arguing that things people were saying to me made me feel like I was stupid or inferior. God was reminding me that what other people say is not important (which I think most people know, but it's hard to remember), even what I say about myself isn't important, but what's important is what God says about me.
"They defeated [overcame] him through the blood of the Lamb
and the bold word of their witness.
They weren't in love with themselves;
they were willing to die for Christ." (The Message)
Friday night I was zoinked after a long day of school, work study, Deaf Den (Deaf church service), t-shirt party and then running errands with my dad. Sadly, when I'm tired I don't try nearly half as hard to keep a reign on my words or attitudes. I got into it with my dad and was offended by whatever he said and took it all personally. Even while I was bickering with him I was apologizing for being so tired and argumentative. Psh. I was being an emotive slacker.
On the drive back to my dorm after dropping my dad off I was frustrated with myself for not keeping things in check, for letting loose my grouchiness on my dad, and for other general missteps of recent. "I'm just feeling like I'm not cutting the mustard, God. I keep messing up and not living up to who You have called me to be, to all I can be in You. I'm stubborn and thick-headed, Papa. Please teach me how to live like You've called me to, to show Your grace and love."
I got back to the dorm and decided that I would just brush my teeth, pray, and sleep since I was so exhausted. Then as I started reading it felt like God spoke something to me through that verse.
"You need to remember Whose you are and who you are in Me."
I had been kind of arguing that things people were saying to me made me feel like I was stupid or inferior. God was reminding me that what other people say is not important (which I think most people know, but it's hard to remember), even what I say about myself isn't important, but what's important is what God says about me.
- Remember Whose you are
- Remember who you are in Him
- This life is not it
They overcame by the blood of the Lamb - as Pastor Randy said tonight, it's because of Jesus' power that they overcame. In our separation from God, Jesus chose to be obedient to His Father and offer His life as a spotless sacrifice, acceptable as the only alternative for us since we can't make that kind of sacrifice. By His grace through my faith I belong to Him, the One who created all the things I can see and the things I can't see.
God says that anyone who is in Christ is a new creation (2 Cor 5:17) and that He has given us everything that we need to live the life He desires for us, His abundant, overflowing, and overcoming life (2 Peter 1:3, John 10:10). It's no small deal to Him either - He adopted me and calls me daughter, a child of His, grafted into the vine. He also says there is NO thing that can separate us from His love.
I won't be around to complain in 100 years about the argument my dad and I had last night. However, today, next year, and in the longer run I can make a difference when my words, thoughts, and actions are those that reflect God's love and show people that He's real and active in my life and wants to have a relationship with them. People are hungry for the hope that God offers. My prerogatives and selfish desires pale in the light of God's calling on my life.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
