Life is changing so fast...

I am little nostalgic tonight. Life is changing so fast...

One of my closest friend from high school is getting married in December. She is so happy, and ready to start this new adventure. The funny thing about this, she did not want to get married. Growing up, it was me, Sagal and Eva.... the 3 musketeers! Sagal was the least likely to get married. HAHA. She is getting married in Mali, West Africa, and I will miss her special day.

Another close friend from college just had her first baby a few days ago (read her beautiful and touching birth story on this link). And you guessed it... she did not want to have children. HAHA! She gave birth to a healthy 7lbs,1.3 ounces, 19.4 inches babygirl.

In both cases, they sound so happy about the unexpected turns in their lives. It gives me hope that God's timing is always perfect, that He listens to our plans and gently smiles, knowing that His are for superior.

Congratulations to both of you!

PS: Hijabee if you read this, let me know when would be a good time to come up for an overdue visit.

EED

Rest

I knew I was in trouble at church earlier today, when during service, pastor Doug talked about the need to set up time aside to spend with God and my first thought was:

-"I really need to be more disciplined about my ONE hour quiet time with God"

To which (as if he was reading my mind), pastor Doug quickly added that we needed an entire day of rest to spend time with God. A day of sabbath, a day of rest. OUCH! I was way off!

I am not sure what I am so busy doing. I don't think I am chasing money really, I am not chasing guys, I am not chasing the next gadget, I am not chasing empty dreams... I am just really busy.


As I laid on my bed, restless once again, I started wondering: "WHAT am I chasing?". I am chasing my past, chasing my future, chasing my destiny, chasing healthy relationships, chasing God, chasing... I don't know.

I don't ever want to be too busy to spend some quiet time with God. I don't ever want to give an hour to God. I want to give my entire life to Him. I want to be a living sacrifice. I want to live a prayerful life, not pray occasionally. I want to be His.

I am still a work in progress... thank goodness for that.

EED

All fall down

"All fall down" by One Republic.

Elom reflects on Scott's reflections: Growing part 3: Planting

I have been reading some of the entries in my old journals and something I heard during a seminar last year stood out to me:

"Once you start your faith journey, you just don't know where you will end up..."

At the time, I must admit that I found this a little discouraging... Once I got past the optimism in this encouraging word, I kept thinking: "All this planting, and I can't even get a sneak peek of what the crop might look like." I was missing the point of this comment: which was the act of planting. To rephrase the sentence:

"Once you decide to start planting seeds in your life, you have NO idea of how God is going to bless the crop in your life".

It's certainly been true for me... I starting planting seeds of service in my life almost as soon as I rededicated my life back to Christ. I needed to start somewhere, so I started right where I was... I felt very strongly that I needed to adopt a "Just show up attitude" and let God use me the way He wanted. I kept showing up, to the point where one of my friends called me a "volunteer hog"- haha. Through planting, and serving, I learned much more about myself then I thought possible. I have met wonderful people, and seen God use each of these experiences to bless others and myself.

I was sharing with some teens I volunteer with why I thought serving was so important in my life; and my main point revolved around Jesus modeling serving over and over throughout His ministry. Every time I question my motives, or feel used, I remember this passage.

"Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ²⁷and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Matthew 20:27-28

Very humbling...isn't it?

EED

My new friend

K: I accepted Christ a month ago. I am 18. I am homeless. I don't know where my life would be if I didn't have Christ.

I don't remember being that sad in a very long time. I wept and wept for her. What do you say to that?

All I could hear while she was sharing her testimony was:

"They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. " Revelations 12:11

EED

Note: a few friends are already trying to help her out. I am going to be spend some more time with her today.

Elom reflects on Scott's reflections: Growing- Part 2- Soil management

I sometimes wonder how good the soil is in different parts of my heart. Some areas are dryer than I care to admit, while others seem to be growing faster than I ever thought possible. As I try to start thinking of where to begin the healing journey on some of this less-than-top-soil, I wonder if the process will be painful... I suppose it will be, at least a little. Soil management sounds like a lot of hard work.



There is a part of me that is comfortable living in the status quo and that is not ready to make the changes needed to grow. The other part of me (which incidentally is a little louder) can't help but look back at the painful times I have been through and the impact they've had on my spiritual walk... Knowing this does not make growing any easier, it just makes it more bearable.

EED

Elom reflects on Scott's reflections: Growing part 1: Sow what?

I really like the new series on growth. Growing has been a crucial part of my life in the past few years. Growing can sometimes be forced, but sustainable growth requires more than the initial push. It demands commitment, patience, and endurance. The fruits, well, they depend on what I decide to sow.



When I started on my growth journey, I really was not sure of where I would end up (I am still not sure of where I will end up...). I was very lost, very sad, very depressed, very angry, but I was also very tired of feeling that way. I had to do something, I had to commit to something, someone bigger than me. I had to consciously decide to take a step and start planting new seeds in my life. The crops could hopefully not be as bad as the previous ones I had planted. And that's what I did. I started planting, investing, sharing, opening up, serving... God really honors that I think. He honors that first step, that first leap of faith.

I started planting seeds to grow closer to God, and I have seen results in so many different areas of my life. I am still planting, I have more growing to do, more emotional healing to go through, more lessons to learn. Yet, every time I start planting new seeds, I am still amazed at God's faithfulness throughout the process. It's hard for me to take any credit when I see some of the things happening in my life, but I love it when I can see the Word come alive in my life:

"A man reaps what he sows." Galatians 6:7

It's pretty matter of fact...

EED