Spoken For

Wow, it's been a long time since I've written a new blog post!! Decided I might as well.

So today one of my friends that I haven't talked to in a long time, started talking to me about some of the problems she's having with a guy. And she was mad. And I have to say, she had every reason in the book to be mad. He's being a big time jerk. And this isn't the first time he's been like this. It's sort of what he does. And I was thinking later. I thought "what a JERK!! How can someone treat a good person this way??" And then as I thought about it later, I thought "how is it that I can treat some people the way that I do?" And how can anyone treat anyone else so badly.

I decided that we all treat each other like such crap. Even if we don't like to admit it, we all treat each other as if we are better than them. I do it. You do it. We all do it. There is One who doesn't though. The ONE person who IS better than everyone else, treats us as though He isn't. Obviously I'm talking about Jesus. He will never treat you like you don't matter. He will never lead you on and then drop you like you don't mean anything. I know for some this is hard to hear and may not make you feel any better. But it should. Jesus will never EVER let you down. Even when it seems like you don't have ANYWHERE to turn, you can turn to him. You are spoken for.



Take this world from me
I don't need it anymore
I am finally free
My heart is spoken for

Oh and I praise you
Oh and I worship you...

[CHORUS:]
Covered by your love divine
Child of the risen Lord
To hear you say "This one's mine"
My heart is spoken for

Now I have a peace
I've never known before
I find myself complete
My heart is spoken for

Oh and I praise you
Oh and I worship you...

[CHORUS:]
Covered by your love divine
Child of the risen Lord
To hear you say "This one's mine"
My heart is spoken for

By the power of the cross
You've taken what was lost
And made it fully yours
And I have been redeemed
By you that spoke to me
Now I am spoken for

[CHORUS:]
Covered by your love divine
Child of the risen Lord
To hear you say "This one's mine"
My heart is spoken for
[2X]

Take this world from me
Don't need it anymore...

People Watching

Wow!! It's been a while. I'm sorry, readers!!!

I was sitting and studying at school today. Usually I go to the library to study. But today I wanted to sit at a table in the hallway and watch people as they walk by. I like people watching. In hindsight, it probably wasn't the best idea as I was trying to study. But I did it anyway. And as I watched and listened, I saw and heard a lot of different things. One guy, dressed in an army shirt, wearing non-army camo pants, and non-army work boots, was saying something about his professor using "alien technology" in his classes. A lady was running away from a janitor who was trying to eat her food. One girl came in, sat at the table next to me, and then started talking, loudly, on the phone. Yes, while I was trying to "study."

And all this got me thinking. What if all these people had been talking about God? What if the people I was watching were witnessing to the people they were coming in contact with? What if the Army fan was telling the girl he was talking to about how he prays every night for the safety of the troops overseas? What if the lady being chased by the janitor shared her food because Jesus said "I was hungry and you fed me?" What if the girl on the phone said to her friend, "Girl, let me tell about this blessing that God had in store for me today...?" Would that change the lives of those people? Would that passion be contagious? I like to think that it would.

And then I thought about me. What if I talked about God? I love talking about God. But I usually only do it when people ask me about Him. But what if I went out of my way, and out of my comfort zone, to tell people about my Best Friend? Would it change the lives of those people? Would that passion be contagious? I say absolutely!

So next time you're sitting, or standing, or walking, with someone, tell them about Jesus. Tell them about the blessings He's given you. Tell them about the passion you have for Him. And most importantly tell them about His eternal, saving grace and how they can have it, too.

Dear God, help me today, and all days, to tell others about you. Amen.

Heat Stroke

I know it's been a while since I've updated my blog (or notes if you are reading this on facebook). I have been through some hard times in my life recently and have not been very inspired to blog at all.

But I'm ready now. :)

So this past week while working for my dad, I had some issues with an overbearing sun and a lack of water. My dad is a beekeeper and it's the time of year that we have to get the honey out of the hives. So we were out working all day in 80 degree weather in full bee suits to keep us from getting stung.

So the story gets interesting right after we got done with our last yard. I hopped into the semi and took my gloves off and immediately got stung. It hurt but it's kind of something that comes with beekeeping so no big deal. But as we were pulling out of the yard I started feeling dizzy and had trouble breathing. Then my vision got super narrow. I said to my dad and the other guy in the truck, "I feel like I'm going to pass out." That's the last thing I remember until I woke up on the floor of the truck with the sound of my dad's voice on the phone with 911. I knelt on the floor for a while and then got the strength to get in the back on the bed with the help of the other worker. My dad then drove his semi like a maniac to the emergency room where the nurses and doctors wheeled me into a room and started an IV to get fluids into my system. I was there for a few hours.

I know it doesn't sound like that big of a deal to some of you, but to me it was one of the scariest moments in my life. I literally thought I was going to die.

And it got me thinking. What if I had died? What if I passed out and never woke back up? There is a lot in my life I haven't accomplished yet. But that's not a HUGE deal to me. The biggest thing is that there are a lot of people in my life who may not know exactly how I feel about them and how much I appreciate them. So this blog post is to all of you who have had a major impact in my life.

So... to:

• My dad- even though we butt heads a lot and I feel like I've failed you often, I know that you are still proud of me and what I've accomplished and that means the world to me. (also thanks for driving your semi as fast as you did haha!!)
• My mom- you are the sweetest, most beautiful woman in the world and I couldn't ask for a better mom. No one on earth truly knows what it's like to have the best mom ever except for Luke and I. Thank you for always being there for me even though I've made you cry all night before.
• Luke- we definitely don't always get along, but I couldn't ask for a better brother. You mean the world to me and I will always be here for you.
• Jake- you are my oldest and dearest friend. Even though you are now married, I know that there is not a whole lot you wouldn't do for me. I thank you so much for that. Horse butts forever!!! LOL!!!
• Dave- we have had our ups and downs but you will always be my best friend!! Even though you are thousands of miles away, you are always on my mind and in my prayers.
• Hannah- I love you cuz!! You are an incredible person!! I miss you so much!! I care about you deeply!!! :)
• Brad- you are the best roommate I could ask for. You can make me laugh when I need it, but you can also sympathize with me when I need it. I'm sad that we can only be roommates for a year. It's not enough time to have all the fun we want to!!
  
• Leslie- you are an incredible friend. You are always willing and ready to help with anything. We haven't always gotten along but you've been bigger than our arguments and nasty feelings. Thanks for everything. I can't wait till I can see you again.
• Laura- we haven't talked in forever!!! But you are probably the person that has led me closer to God than anyone else. I know that my surprise you... but it's true!! I've seen more forgiveness in you than I thought possible for anyone. And I know it's because you have God in your heart. You are probably my second favorite mom right after my own.
• Jessie- This has been one of the hardest journeys of my life, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. You have shown me what a true friend is. I know I've said probably the worst possible things I could ever say to someone. But you still love like Jesus loves. And I don't understand it, but I'm so thankful for it.
• Jody- how are you so amazing??? I know I've bugged you and probably gotten on your every nerve. But you still have this amazing way to encourage me in everything I do. There has never been anyone that I've looked forward to talking to like I look forward to talking to you. You are truly a woman of God. There is nothing I wouldn't do for you. I can't say that to everyone, but that's how much I care about you. You are going to be the best nurse this world has ever seen!!! I love you!!

To anyone else: just because you are not on this short list does not mean you do not mean the world to me. I love you all so much. Thank you so much for the opportunity to let me into your lives. I hope that we are all friends for the rest of our lives!!!


Dear God, thank you so much for putting these people in my life. I don't deserve love from any of them but they give it anyway. And thank you so much for being the BEST FRIEND to all of us. We deserve death but you love us enough to give us the chance to have life... eternal life!! May we all experience you in a tangible, mind-blowing way!! I love you and want to see you soon!!! I can't wait to go home with you!! Amen!!

Struggle

I'm a struggler. I know that's not even a word. But I am. I struggle. I have the hardest time getting through life. Maybe there are people that can sympathize or even empathize. Maybe there are people who know what it's like to struggle. The thing that I struggle with the most is my walk with God. It's hard. It's hard to know that I have a problem following the God of creation. The God who made me. The God who died for me. It's hard for me to see all of you. All of you who love God with an undying love. A love that never fades. A love that doesn't struggle. I can't do it. I try. Then people tell me not to try so hard. So then I don't try. But either way I still can't love like that.

Yesterday, a girl that I used to have very strong feelings for, told me that she can't be with someone who struggles in their relationship with God. And that sucks!! It sucks because what if everyone feels that way? If I want to be in a relationship with someone who knows and loves God, how can I be if I struggle with Him? But that's me. I struggle. And just because I do is no reason for you not to love me! You should love me because God loves me. And if you don't, maybe you struggle, too.

So listen to me carefully, all you who struggle. God loves you. No matter what. Even if you do struggle. Maybe it's right that we struggle. Maybe God has to break us before we can know what He has done in our lives. So break me, God. Break me and then rebuild me from scratch.

*This goes out to J. I'm sorry you can't love me because of my struggles.

Bethel

I'm in Washington State for the weekend for a wedding that I am in. I came this way on a bus. Yes, a bus. From South Bend, IN to Spokane, WA on a Greyhound bus. It was one of the most uncomfortable, but interesting things I have ever done in my life. As I rode, I met different, random people. Some of them were fun to talk to, others were boring, others were just plain scary.

One man that I sat with for a couple hours, from Minneapolis to Fargo, was an Asian man going back home to Seattle from Chicago. We talked for a little while about a lot of things. From weather to baseball to economics. But eventually we got on the subject of Religion after he found out that I am going to school to become a pastor. He told me that he is a Christian, too, and how he goes to church every Sunday so he can be where God is.

That got me thinking for a while. Do we go to where God is? Or does He come to where we are? There is a story in the Bible that is very familiar to many people. It's the story of Jacob.

Jacob was the second born son of Isaac, the son of Abraham. His older brother was Esau. There was a big difference between Jacob and Esau. Esau was a "man's man." He would go out and hunt every day. He was very strong. He also was a very hairy man. I know that sounds strange to talk about but it's very important in the story. Jacob was different than that. He was a "mama's boy." He spent his days indoors with his mother. They would cook and clean together. He was probably the boy that got picked on a lot and would be picked last in a game of pick-up baseball. And he was not hairy at all. Very opposite of his brother Esau.

Now Isaac had promised his inheritance to Esau because it was his birthright as the older son. But Jacob wanted it. And Jacob's mother also wanted him to have it. So they devised a plan. While Esau was out hunting, Jacob killed a lamb and put it's fur on his arms so it felt like he had hairy arms. He then went into the tent of his old, blind father. And Isaac blessed him and gave him his inheritance, thinking that it was Esau. When Esau came back he found out that the inheritance already went to Jacob. And he was extremely mad. Mad enough that he wanted to kill Jacob.

And here is where the story gets interesting to me, in the situation of my friend on the bus. Jacob skipped town. He took off, fearing for his life. And he ran and ran. He stopped to sleep in the middle of nowhere. While he slept he had a dream that God sent him. And he realized that God was with him even while he feared for his own life. When he woke up, he named the place Bethel, which translates to something like "Place of God."

Now this is big for the people that may have been reading this. Because Moses wrote this, so probably the first people hearing this story were the Isrealites wandering around the desert. And to them, God had always been only in the temple and the sanctuary. He had only been in the structures they had built for Him. And when they read this they realized that God isn't just in those places but he is everywhere. This whole world, this whole universe could be named Bethel because it is the place of God.

And that is my point. God is everywhere. We don't go to church every Saturday or Sunday to be where God is. We exist in the world so that God can be with us. We can't go to where God is. That's as absurd as saying we can go to where God isn't. God is omnipresent. He is everywhere.

I wish I had been able to think of this when I with that man on the bus. I hope to see him again one day. Maybe not on this earth or in this life. But in heaven and in the life to come.

God, please be with this man from Seattle. Bless him and his family and may he come to a realization that you are everywhere. Not just in the church building that he attends. May he see you in everything that he does. And may he love you with an undying and uncontrollable love. Amen.

Music

The music is all around us. All you have to do is listen.

I recently (Okay it was like ten minutes ago) watched a movie called August Rush. I'm sure many of you have seen it. It's about a boy who was given up for adoption when he was born. He searches for his parents through his love and talent for music. I won't say anything more for those who haven't seen it.

But it got me thinking about some things. I'm really into music... have been all my life. I love listening to it, I love playing it, I love writing it. It used to really consume much of my life. I used to play in a band that was pretty good. I felt like we were going places. Maybe that was just my youthful, hopeful mind.

But it all fell apart. And it fell apart because we started focusing so much on ourselves so much and not on God. We started playing for our benefit and not for the glory of our Father. We were working on making our sound better and not making a joyful noise to the Lord.

This should never have been where we ended up. But it is. And we fell apart because of it. I'm not really sad that we did. It's hard to make a living playing tunes all your life. But it goes to show what happens when you take God out of the equation.

Philippians 4:13 says "I can do all things, through Christ who gives me strength." This is not our selfish things though. This is God's will for us. We can do all the things that God wills for us to do, but only with the strength of Jesus. I hope and pray that you remember that everyday. God is amazing.

Keep a song of God on your heart always.

Summer Book List

Ok I know it's lame to borrow other people's ideas but I really like this one. I am going to list the books that I want to read this summer. It's a rather long list and I'm sure I will add to it. I got this idea from a blog that is written by my roommate Brad. Check it out at http://theworldfromupsidedown.blogspot.com/

• Mosaic by Amy Grant
• A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
• Jesus Wants to Save Christians by Rob Bell
• Serve God, Save the Planet by Matthew Sleeth
• The Five Languages of Apology by Gary Chapman
• Love, Sex, & Lasting Relationships by Chip Ingram
• Wake Up Your Bible Study by Richard W. Coffen
• The Last Christian Generation by Josh McDowell
• Revolution by George Barna
• Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
• The Way of the Wild Heart by John Eldredge
• Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig
  

There will no doubt be more. But this is my list so far. Tell me what you think. I'd especially like to hear from you if you've read any of these.