Sheep Playdates

Today I went to Ponce Inlet. It's a bit south of Daytona and there's a lighthouse, a marine life center, and some little docks. There's not much to do there, but Patrick (a security guard that I met here on my first day) did tell me about the jetties down on the beach so I walked a bit in the general direction and found them, Bill Hughes style. I was pretty pumped about finding them because my goal today was to stand on the rocks and look out at the waves. Mission accomplished.

My PB&J was already thoroughly digested and my stomach began to politely ask for more food. So I looked up some restaurants nearby and found one called "Black Bean Cafe". I had some of the most tasty fish tacos of my life. It was a family owned business and the staff was super friendly. I was so satisfied, not only from the delicious meal, but because of the way God planned my whole day out for me. From watching the waves crash over the rocks on the beach all the way down to finding some lunch. It was all so effortless on my part but God was so clearly involved.

I headed back to my dorm and saw one of the dorm staff, David (I later learned his last name is Hughes) outside. We talked a bit and he asked what I had been up to. I think he's around my age, but he's pretty quiet and keeps to himself. As I was talking to him about some of the places I went, Patrick saw us through the glass doors and came out to join. After a solid day of solitude, it was nice to talk to some people.

Fast forward a few minutes and I ran into Patrick again as I wandered around the building... this place really isn't all that huge. We talked a bit and I thanked him for the suggestions on my activity itinerary that he wrote for me and gave me on Friday when I ran into him on campus. He asked what I had planned for tomorrow and I told him that I was gonna try out a church. I saw his eyes light up. I knew it... I just knew you had to be a believer. You know, there's just something about you, you just give off light. I told him that the other day when I talked to him I meant to ask him if he was a Christian because I also had my suspicions.

Wow, there's nothing more humbling and exciting than hearing from someone that they know you by your fruit and can tell that Christ is alive in you.

Patrick mentioned some things about how God has provided for him financially and even through meeting his wife. He told me how it had been a long awaited answer to prayer meeting her. (Patrick is in his forties and has a 3 year old daughter named Hannah).

 After talking abut our faith a bit... we basically talked about how creation just shouts God's glory and how we can't understand why people don't believe... we ended our conversation praising God and with a solid high five. I wish my words could adequately express how much joy there was in that hallway as two of God's children just bragged about how great their Father is.

I'm in awe tonight as I see how quickly God answers prayers.

 My first day here was a bit hectic, I arrived on Wednesday and immediately started working. I met my supervisor, Steve, and a woman named Holly who also works in mobility. I was pretty intimidated by them and could some major personality differences. I was convicted of my judgmental heart towards them but couldn't help but feel like "Really God? These people... This internship...This place..." On Friday I had a really good conversation with Steve about why he chose this profession. He also told me how much he genuinely cares about his interns and desires to see me grow from now until the end of the internship.

In only a few days, God has already been faithful. I'm excited to look back when it's all finished and be amazed at how God weaves this all together.

Lunch Break Thoughts

Lately it has been occurring to me how much we are expected to work at making other people like us.

The goal is to make a good first impression. –build rapport with the boss, listen to them talk (about themselves), go above and beyond, nod your head, politely laugh…

(*takes another bite of juicy chicken tender publix sub)

And boy am I feeling the pressure! There’s something so nice about others liking us but so tiring about the process of earning those affections. This all got me thinking about how different God is and praise God for that! We don’t have to work hard to please him in order for God to just “like” us… Rather, we get to come as we are, messy and sinful and broken, and God LOVES us.

I don’t have to find out what his favorite things are or ask about his latest accomplishments or hold doors for him or fan his ego…

God LOVES us. God just loves us.

We don’t do anything to deserve it… in fact, all we’ve really done through our efforts is prove how undeserving we are of it. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved” Ephesians 2:4-5

What an unbelievably comforting truth. I can come as I am because of what Jesus has done for me. I don’t need to feel ashamed, inadequate, or overwhelmed about whether or not I will live up to expectations. Instead of striving, I can rest. I can rest and trust that Christ truly is enough. I can rest and trust that God’s approval is far greater than the approval of man. And I can rest that I am loved by God and accepted into His unshakeable kingdom, not based on my achievements, but because of grace alone.

Amen!

Coming full circle

God has met me at this little desk more times than I can count in the past 3 years.

Some of the most impactful worship sessions I've had have occurred here. Times when I thought i'd just come to work and get homework done turned into raw times with the Lord.

I remember...
Praying for the strength to do this new RA job well
Praying about whether or not I would join staff with Cru
Processing counseling appointments
Praying for clarity on how to best serve in Cru
Praying and listening to God about who I needed to forgive
Being convicted over my judgmental heart, and messaging a friend to get lunch
Praying for my internship in Texas
Praying about grad school
Asking the Lord to lift heavy depression
Praying over brokenness
Asking the Lord for clarity in my relationships
Asking God for His strength to get through tough classes
Praying for a future spouse that would love me tenderly and point me back to God (I think this prayer is in the process of being answered)
And now I sit here, on Sunday, the eve of the last week of school. And I find myself returning to the "quiet place" with God. I'm letting his truth touch my ears and his promises fill my soul.

I am so unsure of what will happen. I don't know where I'll be come August or what I'll be doing. But I do know this. My God is faithful and he loves me. And because he loves me, I know that I can trust Him.

Longing for the Old Road

Longing for the Old Road

The title is pretty straightforward. Sometimes I find myself just wishing I was on an old familiar road, or just a different road altogether. This semester of college has often felt that way. I’ve felt a tension between struggling to be present, wishing I was back in Texas, wishing that college was the same as it was in undergrad, missing various far-away friends, and only a small portion of the time thankful for the present.

I was reading a short post about Laura Story (a songwriter) that shared my sentiment.

Everything radically changed after her husband was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Watching him struggle to breathe and withstand significant memory loss, Laura begged God to heal her husband and restore their lives to the way they were.

Life hadn’t been perfect, but it had been good.

Laura told her sister of her desire to return to the normal trial-free life she had before. And her sister insightfully responded, “You know Laura, I think the detour you are on is actually the road.”

What if the detour is actually the road? Hmm…

That statement rarely, if ever, crosses my mind. My thoughts go something more like this: Just gotta keep walking and push through, the other road is up ahead…. This is just a temporary thing…. Just one more turn and around the corner will be what I’m looking for….

What a faithless and fruitless way to live.

As I look back on my past semester, I see a little girl thinking that she knows best where the path should be. Instead of trusting the good Father who has carefully and thoughtfully paved the path, she just walks along constantly discontent and telling him where she thinks it should lead.

(Picture some prospective homeowners walking through a house and pointing around while they make suggestions for how they can change it for the better)

“Now, if we move this bush and this rock, we can build the path through here and… ah, yes, then it can wind through her and connect back to where I wanted to go in the first place.”

But as I walk through, just straining to see what I wish was in front of me, God patiently walks along with me. Then he gently whispers, “Be still and know that I am God.”

My face becomes flushed… I am immediately convicted and embarrassed at my self-righteousness.

Once the shock settles, I begin to look around and think to myself:

“Hey, I never noticed those flowers over there before… and wow, the stones lining the path that I’ve always wanted to move make it look so beautiful… and check out all of these people I’ve been meeting along the way…”

I think that’s the part of this little illustration that I’m presently at. I’m looking around and simultaneously repenting and praising.

Who knows how the rest of the story will go. I could stop and appreciate the detour but again return to anxious thoughts and plans and just continue to see it as that, a detour. Or I could recognize that it is the road and mourn all of my wishes for how it looked. Or I could rebel and begin to just plow through the unpaved brush, hoping that if I just push my way through enough that I’ll get to where I want to be. Or I could praise God that he knows more and ask him for the strength and faith to walk this new road and rejoice…

(I’m really hoping for the latter response)

Lord,

Thank you for your presence. I confess that my pride often leads to discontentment by causing me to believe that I know better. But you lovingly remind me that “Your thoughts are not my thoughts nor are your ways my ways.” I have no clue what I’m doing. Please help me to long for a changed heart instead of changed circumstances. You are with me and I trust you. Thanks for loving me first. 

Leviticus 16

This morning I was reading through Leviticus 16 and it made me think of a comment a friend said the other night at community group. She shared how hard it is for her not to rely on our works to make us righteous. I feel that! But check it out. So God has established the basis for relationship with Himself, which is by the shedding of blood. Hebrews 9:22 says “For without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins.” So it is only through blood that atonement is made.

The chapter I read today specifically deals with Yom Kippur. I never knew this before but on this day Jewish people hope that their good works outweigh the bad. (You can definitely fact check that, but that’s the idea I was getting from it). A commentary I was reading says “If God could only be approached through blood sacrifices, how do Jews think they can approach Him with their own works, which God declares as “filthy rags in the sight of God.”

So it only makes sense that Jesus is the answer. I know you probs already know this, but it was such a good reminder to me that my own standard of a “good work” doesn’t even come close to making things right with God.

The only things I’ve ever heard about Leviticus are basically how hard and boring it is to read. I have been so pleasantly surprised by how much I am enjoying it.  It is making me realize how holy God is and I always walk away from the reading being more thankful for Jesus. It also making me realize how costly our sin is, not just in terms of separation from God, but how much atoning these people had to do. (I don't think I would've had enough doves, bulls, or rams to sacrifice if I lived back then…)

The one word that keeps summing things up for me as a study God’s word in Leviticus is ‘Holiness’. It all comes back to the problem of sin. That God is holy, we are not, and we can’t be in relationship with Him. God makes a temporary fix for the people, but it is highly specific and difficult to keep up with. Through the High Priest, the people of Israel are able to make a temporary covering for their sin by following the law, but it just isn’t sustainable. Eventually, they sin again and have to repeat the whole process again.

I am thankful that all of these regulations in the Old Testament point to the hope we have now because of Jesus.

“Where, O death, is your victory?

    Where, O death, is your sting?”

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

1 Corinthians 15: 55-58

Thank you, God, for making a way for sinners to be near to you again. When I read the Old Testament I am reminded just how serious my sin is but at the same time of just how great your desire for us to know you is. Help me to trust in Christ alone for my salvation and not in any of my own attempts at righteousness. Thank you for loving me first!

Exodus 30-32

Moses is on Mt. Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights receiving instructions from the Lord on how to prepare the tabernacle (the ark, the table, the lampstand), the altar of burnt offering, the courtyard, oil for the lampstand, the priestly garments ( the ephod and the breastpiece), the altar of incense, atonement money, basin for washing, anointing oil, incense, etc.

The Lord says to Moses: “Go down, because your people, whom you brought out of Egypt, have become corrupt. They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”

Then he comes down from the mountain and sees that the Israelites grew impatient and fashioned an idol.

When I read this passage, it makes it so clear how wrong idol worship is. I am reminded of how quickly my own heart runs to worship other things.

Lord, help me to remain steadfast in you. Keep my heart and affections from turning to other things in the waiting. Lord, remind me to trust your timing instead of believing the lie that you have forgotten about me.  Remind me that you are working all things for my good and that I don’t need to take matters into my own hands. Instead, help me to cease from striving and to wait with my hands outstretched to you.

Exodus 13- 17 God makes a way

I know that most people, Christian or not, can recount the story of the Israelites crossing the red sea. It’s a story, which if I’m being honest, becomes numb to my ears. I’m not amazed anymore because I’ve heard the plot time and time again. It sounds so ridiculous to say that... It just doesn’t amaze me anymore that God allowed the Israelites to escape the Egyptians by walking on dry land through the sea. “Yea, I know. I’ve heard” Tends to be my attitude. But today, by the grace of God, I was able to once again hear this story with awe and wonder.

Let me just set the stage. The Israelites have just escaped Egypt and are being led by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fie by night. A commentary that I read says this:

“Now the interesting thing is that by far the closest route to Israel would be right up the coast. It'd be the easiest way to go. Right through the land of the Philistines, right on into the land. They could actually make the journey within a week or so and be in the land. But God knew that they were not yet prepared. That if the Philistines would come out to meet them with war, their faith in God was not yet strong enough. Fear would grip their hearts; they would seek to return to Egypt.

So the wilderness experience is necessary in order that they might have the experiences of trusting in God, learning what it is to have faith in God, learning the power of God. So that when they did finally come into the land and face the enemies, they would have great confidence and faith in God to deliver the land into their hands. So we find the wilderness experiences are experiences where they are learning how that God can meet their needs no matter what they be. That God is sufficient to take care of their needs, and how that God will answer and will respond to their prayers and to their needs.”

This is thought-provoking. So the journey that took hundreds of years did not actually need to take that long? It’s interesting that God chose to delay their entry into the Promised Land because he knew they still had a lot to learn. It’s also interesting that God is more concerned with the process of our sanctification instead of just immediate results. By reading that passage, it seems that God is more concerned with preparing their hearts through the journey in the wilderness than leading them quickly and safely into the Promised Land with unchanged hearts.

There is no one like God. I can’t think of anyone I know who would be able to withhold something good because they know that by doing so, it will be best for us. We just don’t have that kind of ability to comprehend and see past the current conditions. I’m so thankful that God’s mind does not work like my mind.

When I read this story this morning, it reminded me of my own journey through “the wilderness” last year. I can remember planning to do my internship in Texas in the spring. Throughout the process, I felt so reluctant to surrender that last semester of college to the Lord. “But God, you just don’t know what I need” were my thoughts. After a lot of wrestling, God finally gave me the ability to pry my fingers from something that I held onto so tightly and say “Thy will be done.”

It would be much easier had it ended there, but God had something very different in mind. After all of this wrestling and surrendering, I found out that I was missing 3 credits and could not do my internship until I completed them. Hmm, didn’t see that one coming. Once again, I found myself crying out to God. “I just don’t understand…  I’m trying to do what you wanted” I pleaded.

Reading the account in Exodus I think my response to the situation was very similar to the Israelites’ reaction: “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?” They look around and noticed that they have mountains to the left and right, the Red Sea in front of them, and the Egyptians closing in behind them. My modern translation of this event goes something like “What the heck God? Are you serious right now? We’ve been following your lead and you brought us here. Do you even know what you’re doing?”

Thankfully God can confidently answer yes; I do in fact know what I’m doing.

Now, if you haven’t heard the story and you’re wondering what happens to the Israelites… They make it out alive by the power and provision of God. He swallows up the entire Egyptian army into the sea. As for the Israelites, God makes a way for them to pass through totally unharmed while also giving them a lesson in faith.  After Moses and the Israelites witness God’s power, their response is worship.

A year later, I can look back and thank God for withholding. Although the waiting felt frustrating and purposeless at the time, now I thank God that he used that time to prepare me. Had I gone to Texas when I thought it was right, I would not have experienced God’s provision in the same ways. The church that blessed me so much during my time in Austin wouldn’t have existed.  I wouldn’t have met the same students and worked with the same supervising teacher. I wouldn’t have encountered the same people. I also probably wouldn’t have met Hunter.

All of this to say, I am just so thankful for God’s timing. I am thankful that He leads us into impossible situations to show us more of His glory. I am thankful that through faith, I can be confident of He who goes before me and trust Him more than I can trust myself. I am thankful that those moments often lead to worship and remind my soul of the powerful and faithful God that I get to serve.

Now if you haven’t heard the story and you’re wondering what happens to Christina…I am still walking through the wilderness. Some days are filled with bursts of faith and other days are filled with bouts of faithlessness. Throughout the journey, my emotions waver. Throughout the same journey, God remains present and steadfast. Similar to the Israelites, I am so quick to forget to trust the God that is leading me. There are a lot of details that I’m uncertain about. I don’t know the route that I’ll take or how long the journey will last. But I do know that I’ll make it to the Promised Land and that one day it’ll all make sense. And I do know that this life will end in worship... not only to God, but in front of God.