It's funny how sometimes someone else knows you way better than you know yourself. I've been lucky enough to walk through life with one of my best friends now for almost 14 years. And I honestly believe sometimes she knows what's going on with me better than I do. Maybe that's because we've been through a lot together. She keeps me grounded. She keeps me humble. She knows how to make me laugh harder than almost anyone else I know. She's smart. She's funny. She's beautiful inside and out. She's not afraid to act absolutely stupid with me most of the time.
But I think the thing I love most about her is that she's real with me. She's never afraid to tell me the truth. Whether it's good or bad, easy or hard, makes me happy or sad...
And for that I'm so thankful. She sent me this yesterday, and it was something that I really needed to hear and be reminded of:
"So be determined. Don't settle for way less than what Jesus suffered and died to give you. Be honest about your relationships and be hopeful about change. You can do both, because in Jesus Christ you really do have everything you need to live in peace with God and the people he has placed in your life."-Paul Tripp
Delaney, thanks for being my best friend for so long. Thanks for pouring Christ into my life even when I make it difficult. Thanks for always being real with me. Thanks for being YOU. I'm grateful for your heart :)
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Follow Me.
Today I feel weird. Actually, for the past few weeks I've felt this way. And I think know that a lot of it all of it has to do to with the fact that I'm waking up each morning and forgetting to whom I belong. I wonder why Jesus is allowing me to hurt. I get upset because things haven't turned out like I think they should have. I lie and tell myself that the things and the people of this world are important. That they matter. That they're what's going to fulfill me this very moment.
But they're not. And I know that. But sometimes knowing something in your head and really believing it in your heart are two different stories.
That's something else I've been struggling with lately - my mind telling me one thing, and my heart telling me another. It's confusing...really confusing. And scary. Scary that I've come to this place of not knowing the difference between what God's voice is telling me to do and what my own voice is trying to tell me is right.
I just started reading a book called The Barbarian Way. This morning I was re-reading a chapter I glanced at a few days ago called "The Barbarian Call," but I think for the first time it hit me what the words were actually saying. Hit me as in they were pretty much a slap in the face.
It said this: "I wonder how many of us have lost our barbarian way and have become embittered with God, confused in our faith because God doesn't come through the way we think He should. Is it possible that the transforming power of the church has been lost because we keep inviting people to step into the comfort, safety, and security of Jesus Christ? We've created a religious culture in which - even though we are the most blessed society on the history of the planet - our best-selling literature still focuses on how we can be more blessed. Maybe we need to step way back to the beginning of this movement. The original call of Jesus was so simple, so clean, so clear: 'Follow Me.' He wants us to surrender our lives to Him and follow Him into the unknown. And if it means a life of suffering, hardships, and disappointments, it will be worth it because following Jesus Christ is more powerful and more fulfilling than living with everything in the world minus Him. Have we forgotten this?"
I think, sadly, some days I do forget this. That I could have everything in this world, and it still wouldn't be enough without Jesus. And I forget that all He's asking us to do is simply follow. And If we do follow Him, everything else will fall into place. What a sweet, sweet gift.
But they're not. And I know that. But sometimes knowing something in your head and really believing it in your heart are two different stories.
That's something else I've been struggling with lately - my mind telling me one thing, and my heart telling me another. It's confusing...really confusing. And scary. Scary that I've come to this place of not knowing the difference between what God's voice is telling me to do and what my own voice is trying to tell me is right.
I just started reading a book called The Barbarian Way. This morning I was re-reading a chapter I glanced at a few days ago called "The Barbarian Call," but I think for the first time it hit me what the words were actually saying. Hit me as in they were pretty much a slap in the face.
It said this: "I wonder how many of us have lost our barbarian way and have become embittered with God, confused in our faith because God doesn't come through the way we think He should. Is it possible that the transforming power of the church has been lost because we keep inviting people to step into the comfort, safety, and security of Jesus Christ? We've created a religious culture in which - even though we are the most blessed society on the history of the planet - our best-selling literature still focuses on how we can be more blessed. Maybe we need to step way back to the beginning of this movement. The original call of Jesus was so simple, so clean, so clear: 'Follow Me.' He wants us to surrender our lives to Him and follow Him into the unknown. And if it means a life of suffering, hardships, and disappointments, it will be worth it because following Jesus Christ is more powerful and more fulfilling than living with everything in the world minus Him. Have we forgotten this?"
I think, sadly, some days I do forget this. That I could have everything in this world, and it still wouldn't be enough without Jesus. And I forget that all He's asking us to do is simply follow. And If we do follow Him, everything else will fall into place. What a sweet, sweet gift.
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