Thursday, September 29, 2011

What to do on your worst day.

You know when it is coming. You interpret the signs: the clouds rolling in, the thick humidity that covers the campus like a heavy blanket, and cute rain boots that most girls wear. Great preparation is required for rainy days on a college campus. As a college student, you should be prepared with the knowledge of the local weather, appropriate clothing and outerwear, a strong umbrella, and a positive attitude on a rainy day.
When you wake up at seven to a cloudy sight, you may dismiss it as early morning. However, check the weather, just in case. If you are lucky, you may find the weather channel predicts sunny skies with highs around eighty-five. Because you went to class in your pajamas the day before, you should decide to dress up and look cute today. On your way to class, you will notice the number of girls wearing their heavy rain boots; nevertheless, smile with pride because you were smart enough to check the weather.
Your first class is Human Lifespan Psychology. It is way too early in the morning to decide what you want for breakfast, much less to process anything having to do with the notes you studied vigorously the night before. You try your best on the daily quiz that your professor gives, but with no luck you fail. You will be a little disappointed, but you will think to yourself, it will only get better from here. After the professor rambles on about motor neurons, be quick to leave so you can be the first one out the door. Much to your dismay, you step under the awning to witness a torrential downpour. Try not to have a sour look on your face as you pull out the umbrella you always keep with you. Open it up and start your half mile walk back to your car. The rain is pouring so hard it begins to form colossal puddles that cannot be avoided. While trudging the puddles that mimic oceans, you ruin your brand new Coach sneakers. If there is any hope in saving them, you will want to walk like a duck to avoid too much splashing. If the water that has doused you begins to give you the chills, go to the nearest coffee shop to get a vanilla soy latte in hopes that it will warm you up. The coffee shop barista informs you that there is no soy left, so grudgingly tell her to make it a skinny instead. After waiting thirty minutes because the expresso machine decided to take a break, you will finally receive your steaming hot latte. Take a sip of it, sigh, and think to yourself, it will only get better from here.
Upon leaving Starbucks, go back home to resume writing one of your History document essays that is due in a week. Do not be surprised when you see the rainfall as you walk to the double-door exit.
Secure your Coach purse that matches your new and ruined Coach sneakers tighter around your shoulders. Prepare to open your umbrella so not to get it stuck in the door, but also to keep yourself from getting wet. At this time, a series of unfortunate events will occur. As you stick your umbrella out the door, the strap of your purse will get caught on the door handle and rip. Everything in your purse should fall out into one of the huge puddles at the foot of the door, as well as the purse itself. You should then switch your latte to the same hand as your umbrella so that you can successfully pick up all of your belongings. It is still very early in the morning so you are still attempting to wake up and are not fully aware of certain laws, such as gravity. Bending over causes just enough tilt in your opposite hand, which is holding your umbrella and latte, to pour steaming hot vanilla skinny latte all over your hair, face and shirt. This will cause a riot for all of those watching in Starbucks. Do not be too discouraged, for spilling the steaming hot latte on you, removed all chills you had earlier.
With what feels like the world watching and laughing at you, you will proceed to grab all of your belongings and hurry back to your car. After fumbling with your keys, you will finally be able to get into the vehicle. When you get home you will be greeted with confused faces. Be sure not to judge for the looks they are giving you. You are a wreck. You are soaking wet, have latte all over you, and are carrying a huge load in your arms. Once you get in your room and get everything settled, take a long, hot shower. When you get out, you should feel much more calm and relaxed. Get dressed in your raincoat and your cute cheetah-print rain boots that you bought at a yard sale for two dollars. Now that you are warm and prepared for the rest of the yucky day outside, think to yourself, it will only get better from here.
Journey to your next class with pride and confidence. Remember that you had taken one of the three tests planned for the semester two days prior; therefore, be excited to see what your grade is. You look back on the four long hours of studying and practicing your Chemistry problems, and you are confident that you earned an A. When the teacher passes back the tests, you will find that you made an C on your paper instead. Do not be dismayed, the class average was only a seventy-two. With tears in your eyes head to your next class, again in the rain. Walking through the hallway, you may see the many drenched umbrellas sitting outside of the classrooms. You should leave yours outside as well because it must be the class policy. After sitting through a super boring class, you are finally done for the day. March out with relief that you have made it through the day.
The sound of rain on the roof reminds you to retrieve your umbrella; however, you should find that your umbrella is gone from the place that you set it. Look back in the classroom, just to make sure that it did not somehow find its way in there, but it most likely wont be in there. To add further complications to your already hectic day, walk away figuring that your umbrella has been stolen by a student desperate to stay dry. As you walk, pathetically, to your car, which again is half a mile away, recall the dreadful day and its events. You will then shed tears of embarrassment, pity, and shame. You will wonder why you bought a raincoat that has no hood, or paid two dollars for rain boots that are a size too small and has given you three blisters. When you get home, take off your wet clothes and hop in a warm shower again. After you put on some cozy pajamas you will call your best friend for a little bit of comfort. They know the key to fixing all problems so they will supply you with the comfort and encouragement you need; however, you will still feel a little down on yourself.
Furthermore, do your quiet time, pray and call it a day. These acts will cause you to relax and prevent you from hurting yourself, breaking something or any other unfortunate happening that might occur. You should stumble across a verse that uplifts you, and will feel your Heavenly Father’s love pour out on you. Again, call your best friend so that you can share this verse with her. In turn, you will supply your best friend with encouragement as well. It turns out that she needed encouragement, just as much as you did. By helping her, satisfaction and blessings will overwhelm you.
After a long day, climb into your comfortable bed. Pull your blankets up, be thankful for your warm covers and thankful that God has blessed you with such a great opportunity to be a part of the college world. Grab Buckle, your “good luck teddy bear,” curl up with it, and close your eyes. While you are drifting off to sleep, think in total peace, it will only get better from here.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Monday, September 26, 2011

Safety in Number$

"And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'" And he said to him, "Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth." And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions...
Peter began to say to him, "See, we have left everything and followed you." Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life."-Mark 10:17-22;28-30

See, we were never meant to find security in money or possessions. Obeying Jesus doesn't always seem like the "secure" or "safe" option. Sometimes, it seems downright crazy. Obedience requires our trust. We're called to believe that our eternal reward will be greater than the momentary cost.

In other news, Chemistry is completely owning my life lately.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Courageous.

Today has been one of those eye-opening days for me. God has shown me things that I would have never even thought of, had it not been for my peaked interest in the movie "Courageous". I honestly believe that this movie will change lives. But what God brought to my attention today is how far am I willing to go to be courageous? Having courage is knowing that no matter how prominent your fear is, there is an underlying love that trumps all fear present.

Imagine that you've just put gas into your car and stepped away for only a second... The moment you take your eyes off of your car, someone jumps in it and takes off with it. Would you risk your life for a car? Would you be willing to put yourself in harms way to get your car back? Watch this video and see how this man reacts...




...At first glance you think this man has put himself in danger to save his truck. (I'll admit, when I first watched this I thought "This guy has to be stupid.") But as the scene plays out, we realize that he is actually risking his life to save his child's. Now, I would bet that any parent would do anything for their child. No doubt about it. But this short clip really caught my attention.

There are people in my life that I would without a doubt risk my life, to save theirs. Even though it would be scary I would not even question dying for them, if I had to. But actually acknowledging this made me realize the following...I say that I would die for these people but I don't live for them. If I'm willing to die for someone, I should be willing to live for them also. In order to live for them, I need to be a leader, someone they can count on. I need to be someone who doesn't just give up when things get hard or something doesn't go my way. I guess being "courageous" means something different for each person, but for me...I would say that being courageous means fighting against the real enemy and living for those that matter to me.

Being courageous means having the guts to stand out in a secular society. Being courageous means living my life for God's glory rather than my own satisfaction. Being courageous means facing my toughest obstacles with my head held high giving no room to crumble under pressure. Being courageous means living my life as a daughter of my Heavenly Father despite our world's opinion. Being courageous means sharing Christ's love with those who mean the world to me. And last but not least, being courageous means wholeheartedly loving each and every person God gives me the opportunity to share life with. Because whether we admit it or not, love or the lack thereof is lost in our society. Now let me ask you...what does being courageous mean in your life?

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." -Joshua 1:9

Friday, September 23, 2011

We Are Pharisees.

God's good grace. It's a popular subject amongst the Christian circles. We love to discuss what the grace of God has done in our lives, how it has changed us from one person to another, and how we have witnessed the power in the lives of our loved ones. Please, don't get this post wrong, I am most definitely not undermining this precious gift, for I too have marveled at it. However, I did have something on my heart to share today.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are."-Matthew 23:13-15

Sometimes, I find myself disassociating myself from stories such as this; especially, when Jesus is referring to the Pharisees and other spiritual leaders. The reality is, this is the same gracious Jesus. I often forget that He's not always unicorns and cotton candy.

And He did not just address them in this manner only once...


"Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:

“‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’”-Matthew 15:6-9

My heart is heavy today because of this. The Pharisees were children of God just as I; am I any better than them? Not by any means. If I were to run into Jesus on the streets today, what would He say to me?

"'Cause I was a Pharisee, I never saw my need for grace. Then your love came to me, stood next to mine, and I saw that I was poor."-Empire, As Cities Burn

Grace is a gift. A precious, awe-inspiring gift. Most of all, it's a need. It is a need worth dying for, and a need I need to embrace and live for.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Unbroken.

Demi Lovato's new album "Unbroken" came out yesterday. Therefore, I am going to write up a blog about why she is someone we should admire...

If you were born in the early 90s, you grew up watching Demi on Barney & Friends. Eventually finding her way to Disney Channel. Shortly after her career spiked she caught the attention of the media. And much like many other celebrities...this turned sour. I won't go into everything the media brought to our attention, but she went from a well-known Disney Channel star to a girl in rehab that no one dared talk about. This girl has overcome SO much within the last year or so. And I believe that she is someone girls should look up to. Despite the mistakes she's made, she's stood her ground. Overcome obstacles. And has gotten the approval of no one except herself. We all make mistakes, but unlike Demi, our lives aren't plastered on every network in the country. Before we judge what the celebrities do, we should think about what people would think about our lives if we were in the spotlight. With all of that being said. You should go listen to Demi's new album. It's absolutely fantastic. I have a couple of favorite songs, but I'll link you one....just to get you started. :)

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Set My Heart On Fire.

This song struck a cord with me today. Maybe it will for you too. The lyrics are below.



I stand before You, awed by Your Majesty
Covered by Your mercy, Your blood has made me free
Draw me to You, and set my heart on fire

I want to know You,
You're my one desire

I give you my worship,
all of my Passion
I give you my whole heart,
all my devotion

Grace never ending, Your hands, they carry me
Your body is broken for all the world to see
My heart is held by love so unconditional

You captivate me
You're the lover of my soul

I give you my worship,
all of my Passion
I give you my whole heart,
all my devotion

Here I will bow down,
say that I need You
Here I will worship,
say that I love you

Oh, how I love you (4x)

I want to know You,
let Your Spirit overwhelm me
Let Your Presence overtake my heart

Monday, September 19, 2011

Top of a Mountain.

I'm on top of a mountain.


There is a wind in my hair,
soft and sweet.
It gently whispers,
wants to be close to me.
It lifts me high and mighty.
The humble strength of it,
like the peace in a glorious storm.


I've never felt this high;
looking down on clouds.
I know I'm not alone.


The wind,
it changes.


It's strong with hate,
cold against my skin.
It closes around my neck with fear.
I want to run.
This wind is not friendly,
no empowerment found in it.
It threatens.


It's harsh screams are ice to my ears,
there is a passionate distain,
an agenda of ruin.
a wrath that heaps loneliness.


"The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you." -Romans 16:20


I am refusing to come off of this mountain today.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Charged with Neglect.

Let me state that I have been really busy lately and I'm not ignoring my blog. Promise. I have actually had so many thoughts lately, that if I typed out a blog...we would be here all year reading the one post. I really kind of did all of you a favor. So, I'll go ahead and say "you're welcome". In any case, let's jump right in, shall we?

I've had this unbearable burden lately. And I'll be honest, at first I couldn't understand why it was so heavy on my heart. I mean, I run into non-Christians every single day of my life. Literally, every day. But until this past week or so, it was just a way of life. I just accepted that I knew Christ and they didn't. And I was okay with that. ...That's when I really had a struggle with my head and my heart. In my heart, I was aching for the spiritual lives of these people. But in my head, I was telling myself that it's their choice. This is when it really hit me. I seriously sat in my car for thirty minutes just crying. (Lame, I know) But I really hurt for these people.

When did it become okay to just accept that you are a child of God and someone else is not? This astounded me. Our hearts should be breaking daily for those who don't know Jesus as their personal Saviour. We should be praying for them, any chance we get. And that's really all there is to it.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

A Friendly Reminder.

Today's post is really simple and super short.

I guess it's an expected thing within a friendship...but I truly appreciate all of the friends that I have. Without these people in my life, I don't know where I would be. I love each and every one of them so much. And I tend to keep that to myself. I feel like the words "I love you" are so overused in our society that I usually just avoid them completely. (Don't get me wrong, I've gotten better. But I haven't quite turned into an "I love you" slut yet.) But in doing so, I forget to remind my friends that no matter what they're going through or how they're feeling...someone cares about them. I tend to get caught up in my busy schedule, hectic life, and so forth...that I fail to tell them how much they actually mean to me. And we all need that security from our friends every now and then, right? Yeah...I think so also.

Now see, that wasn't so bad. Told you it would be short. :)

Monday, September 12, 2011

Declaring His Splendor.

I am just going to start with saying that if you are God's child, and are following His voice, the places your feet go, are for a purpose. I spent this summer at home and ended up staying this semester. (I'll talk more about this in a little bit) Throughout the summer I became a very different person. The change for me in my life, is that I have stopped just speaking the words that I know are true (like Jesus loves me or Jesus has good for those who love Him) but I have started proclaiming those things in my life.

Now you tell me...Do you proclaim God's word in your life or are you just making statements? Don't get me wrong, this is not in any way me bragging on myself because I am far from where I should be. I have a long way to go. But I have finally realized that rather than me just making statements, I need to live my life as God intended. I do hope though, that if you aren't proclaiming what is already yours that this encourages you to hop on board. Let's live as though we are free, because we are.

Such a beautiful thing it is, to know that God freed us. Once this truth was again revealed in my life; things started to change drastically. This is when I decided to stay home and go to school here, rather than go back to the school I've been at for two years.Despite the trouble I went through to transfer and no matter how much I miss my truly amazing friends, God was doing a work in my life in all of this...one that I hadn't even acknowledged. Don't get me wrong, it was not an easy transition, as a matter of fact it was incredibly difficult. But this transition called me daily to proclaim God's joy, rest, strength, and love in my life. And as of right now, I can confidently say that I love my classes, I love my environment, and I love seeing Christ work in the lives of others.

To talk more about what God is doing, I'll tell you about my wonderful grandmother. She lost her husband of 40 years to the same illness that she lost her mother to. Cancer. It's such a depressing word. But despite the incredibly hard time she's had dealing with his death (I can't imagine what it's like to lose someone so precious...well I can. But not in the sense of a spouse, obviously) and her own fits of sickness, I have seen Jesus bring a spirit of peace and joy to her that she has not had in many years. She is relying on Him as her strength and I believe with all my heart that He is healing her body, but more so her heart. God is concerned with the motives of the heart more than the actions we take out of a habitual lifestyle. My grandma is choosing to be different from the world in many ways, and that in itself is praiseworthy. She is beautiful and God is pleased with her.

I guess for the most part, I'm in a place where it's like I am standing back behind the crowd of people, watching the world just happen. It feels so much like an outer body experience. My heart is breaking so much for the hurt in this world. But at the same time, we are the ones bringing the hurt upon ourselves. I feel like we as Christians have bought into so many lies and religious rules over the years that we have lost sight of Jesus. I feel like we have learned how to fill our time here on Earth well with acts of service. But what's an act of service if we aren't doing it for the glory of Christ? We have just learned to fill our time. We have stated what is acceptable and what isn't and have chosen to agree with those standards. Anything outside of comfortable, normal, or easy...we just turn our heads away. I believe whole-heartedly that we need to refocus our eyes. Not on ourselves, but on Him. Let's not just fill our time by saying and doing the right things. Let's fulfill God's purpose by leading and drawing others closer to His presence.

"My mouth is filled with Your praise, declaring Your splendor all day long." - Psalm 71:8.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

A Day to Remember.

September 11, 2001.
The day our world was changed forever...


"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." -Joshua 1:9

First responders (Firemen, Policemen, EMTs, etc.) We thank you and appreciate your hard work...not just during times of chaos like the events that took place on this day 10 years ago. But you put your lives at risk every day, and you ought to be recognized. Many lives were lost that day but without the help of the each and every one of you, many more lives would have been lost. We thank you.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Fooling Myself.

"So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.

But don’t just listen to God’s word.

You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you."-James 1:21-27 NLT

Uhm... dang. My heart is breaking right now for the way I have neglected the power of His Word. It is one thing to read or listen to His words, but it is another to receive, accept, absorb, apply it to our lives, and let it overcome and transform us. At the same time, my heart is rejoicing that these words have beautifully wrecked me this morning.

I will be praying today that I will let His Word overwhelm me and radically change my life and that it will do the same to yours.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Legit Cover.

For those of you who don't know, my precious pink laptop quit working yesterday. Forcing me to buy another one at the spur of the moment, in order to complete an online test. Can we just have a moment of silence for my precious laptop? .......Alright, awesome. Now, onto the important topic of this post. iTunes.

Yes, that's right. I lost over 10,000 songs. All I have are a mere 3,000 that I rarely listen to, from my iPod left. But despite this traumatizing news, I'm focusing on the bright side of things. I have the perfect opportunity to find new music. I've told myself a million times that I'm eventually going to find a reason to search for new music...well, here is my chance.

Now, I used to listen to Adele way back in the day when no one had heard of her and it was amazing. Then she became really "rad" and I was kind of turned off to her music for a while because it's the only thing you heard on the radio. But amidst searching for new music, I came across a really good cover of Adele's song "Rolling In The Deep". And this cover reeled me back in... so I figured I would share it with you all, since we all love good music. Right? :]



Tuesday, September 6, 2011

When Opportunity Knocks.

Let me ask you something.


If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience, or does he give them the opportunity to be patient?

If they prayed for courage, does God give them courage, or does he give them the opportunity to be courageous?

If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?


These are just some questions that have been on my mind lately. And I'm thinking He gives us opportunities...it's up to us what we do with those opportunities.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Sin.

I have learned a lot about sin in the past couple of years.
While this statement is probably not one that you would like to hear in a letter home from your college-aged child, allow me to explain:

For the later part of my childhood, I grew up in a church-going, before-dinner praying home, so I knew the Jesus spiel. I knew the ABC's of LifeWay's Vacation Bible School (Admit, Believe, Confess), the sinner's prayer, I've witnessed a thousand times the "I see that hand, thank you, yes, I see you..." invitation with "every head bowed and every eye closed." I heard about Adam and Eve, satan and Jesus, Heaven and Hell. But, in retrospect, I am astounded at how little I learned about sin. Now, I know that I have heard many teachings on sin and the depravity of man but it's like there are time locks on certain truths.


No one needed to teach me how to sin.
My family can attest to that. I'm fairly certain that I came out of the womb wreaking havoc. But ever since that day, I was taught how to fix it. I learned about love, grace, forgiveness, propitiation, and redemption. But I can not remember a specific time in my childhood when I was taught about the depravity of my being. I remember being taught that "Man is basically good" is a hellish concept and should be shunned at all costs. But in my mind however, this meant "man is inherently evil, but you are not."

I have been reading Paul's letters lately and he makes it very clear that the law exists to show man how helpless they are without Christ. While I don't think I ever received false teaching as a child, perhaps it was just my own skewed view of the message, I have lived the majority of my life using the law as a voluntary chore chart. When I do something good, I get a star in that box. When I don't, I don't get anything. How backwards is that? The reality is, when you do something good, you don't get anything - you are hitting par. And when you fail, the penalty is death. Death. Not the absence of a gumdrop.


I was drowning,
But I never noticed. Instead I learned to tread water with a cinderblock tied to my leg. I learned how to brave through the sin and keep my head above water, not to cry in defeat and have faith that the Savior that I spent my life studying would rescue me from the depths of my sin. I learned how to quietly cope with my mistakes and personally condone the one's that were socially accepted. I knew the answers to the problem of sin, I just was blind to the fact that I was a victim of it.


We like to get to the good part.
We like getting to tell someone that there is hope, grace, love, peace, and joy for them. But let me remind you, these words mean nothing without the prior knowledge of one's desperate need for them. Redemption is empty until we realize the bondage we are in. Salvation doesn't make sense until we understand we are in captivity. And Grace isn't amazing until we become aware of what we deserve.


Francis Schaeffer once said, "If I had one hour with every man, I would spend the first 45 minutes talking to them about God's law, and the last 15 minutes talking about His great salvation."

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Short and sweet this time, folks.

This isn't really a significant post, I just feel it's a necessary reminder to myself. Something I need to remember on a daily basis, and at times forget. Many events happen in one day, one week, or what have you. But if I focus on the positive...things would run much more smoothly. And I think looking at the bright side of things on occasion would do us all some good.

Anyway, this is short and to the point. But for now, I'm perfectly okay with that.

I have a great life, and I am wealthy in family, love, blessings, health, and environment. I am so thankful that I have people in my life who pull me away from the irrelevant details, so that I can see more clearly. I have an amazing heavenly Father who loves me just the way I am and friends and family who try to do the same. I couldn't ask for a better support system and despite the outside opinion of my life, I'm doing pretty well for myself.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

"Meditate on these things"

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body... Is not life more than food...? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?... Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’... For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things..."
-Taken from Matthew 6:25-34

I'm fairly positive that I've already written a post on this particular passage, but it has been something so heavy on my heart these past few days. It's something that I struggle very much with and have to make a daily effort to exercise in my life.

Many of you know Philippians 4:8 by heart, and I even catch myself reciting it over and over again in my mind...

"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things."

I love the way the NKJV uses the term "meditate".


MED·I·TATE

1 : to engage in contemplation or reflection
2 : to engage in mental exercise (as concentration on one's breathing or repetition of a mantra) for the purpose of reaching a heightened level of spiritual awareness
-Merriam Webster's definition

Imagine the power this could have in our lives, in our attitudes, in our work forces, our ministries, our teams, our churches. Instead of dwelling on money, school, relationships, work, and the day-to-day stresses of life, we, in fact, meditated on "these things" that Paul was talking about. This could be revolutionary. I mean, look at the effect that it had in Paul's own life... not to mention all of the lives that he touched and churches he inspired!

Honestly, what good is worry? Worry is not proactivity, nor productivity. You know what is? Trust, hope, and a bright attitude.