Burning Bushes

If you grew up in the church, you know what I mean when I say "What's your favorite Bible story?" We all have them. The stories you were told at VBS when you were younger-Joshua, Noah, Jonah...etc. Maybe it was all the colorful animals in Noah's Ark-that used to be my favorite! Or you love the idea of living inside of a big fish like Jonah did. Trust me, ask any 6 year old what their favorite Bible story is, and just enjoy the answers you get. 

We kind of grow out of those kind of Bible stories as we get older. Instead of the fun tales of childhood, our favorite Bible stories start to be ones where we sympathize with the character. They take on more meaning than the simple stories with the fun songs that captured our minds as children. I am realizing that as much as I loved the idea of a giant boat with hundreds of different animals on it, and a rainbow at the end as a kid, I would be a little afraid of the animals, hate the smell, and be tired of being cooped up inside a boat for 40 days. Very recently, I have had Moses on the brain. We have talked about him and his parents in church the past two Sundays, and even shared a quick bit about him and his brother Aaron on Wednesday in Bible class. And I am beginning to understand that God is using me like Moses. I never really had a Bible character that I really connected to before, it all seemed kind of like a stretch for me. But Moses, he makes sense to me. 

Maybe I wasn't ever raised in a palace persay, but I sure acted like I was in high school. God has used college to humble me, just like he used the desert to humble Moses and prepare him for his next stage of life. 

In Exodus 3, God appears to Moses in a burning bush and tells him that he has seen the way the Israelites suffer under their slave drivers and is concerned for them. He tells Moses that He is sending him to rescue the people of Israel from the hand of Pharaoh. I think what I empathize most with the story of Moses is in verse 11 of chapter 3, when he says "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" Later, in chapter 6, God tells Moses to go back to Pharaoh and he again says "Since I speak with faltering lips, why should Pharaoh listen to me?" 

I am nothing. Moses went from the highest place to being absolutely nothing. Yet God goes to him, understanding his new position, and chooses to send him to the most powerful person in Egypt to rescue people from slavery. 

I know exactly what Moses is saying when he says he speaks with faltering lips. Sometimes when I'm talking to people, it feels like my brain freezes and I can't get the words out to say what I mean. And when I'm speaking publicly, I say "um" a lot-something I'm trying to improve on. My words seem so miniscule and meaningless. But somehow, God has seen fit to come to me and give me opportunities to do something great. He isn't sending me to speak to the President or anything (although, I may have just jinxed myself), but he has pushed me smack in the middle of the issue of human trafficking. He placed a fiery passion inside of me for these people who are forced into a wicked situation, given me just enough resources to tell others about it, and provided a way for me to present a seminar to my church family. And let me tell you, I am terrified of using my faltering lips to share the news this weekend. 

But God doesn't just say "too bad, suck it up and go do what I told you." He says "I will be with you." He reassures Moses that he is right there next to him, no doubt feeding him the lines as to what to say. There have been many times where I feel like I have no possible way to talk about something, but suddenly I give a good answer. I know that God has used these faltering lips to do some tiny bit of good. And I have no doubt that He will continue to do so-on Saturday, this next school year, and hopefully in a job one day. 

If God can appear to Moses in a burning bush out in the desert and use him to take down a power hungry slave-owner, he can use me to influence the work of many and work toward stopping the wickedness all over the world that we see in modern day slavery. I count my blessings that God has seen me fit to walk beside Moses in his search for justice and freedom. And on days when I'm at my lowest, I know that there is purpose because I have a fire for seeing the liberation of many, just like my Savior.

Crafting Days

Just a little decor I whipped up this afternoon. My favorite projects are the kind that take less work and still look good! So thankful for moments to sit and work on a new project. 

Pictures from my cabinet project to come soon! 

I'm a Temple

This past spring semester, I took an aerobics class. I had it every Monday and Wednesday, right after chapel and it was great! I truly enjoyed the class and it showed me ways to have fun working out. During the span of the class, we had to work out a certain number of times for a duration of 40 minutes each week outside of class. It was great, even if it was just popping in a yoga dvd and closing my bedroom door. I felt so much more energized and healthy. 

At the same time, I began to finally set out on my goal of starting my day off with scripture, spending each morning waking up at 7am, reading my Bible for 30 minutes to an hour and then getting ready for chapel. I felt completely energized each morning, so spiritually challenged each day and it felt great! I was getting healthy spiritually and physically, I could just feel it!

Unfortunately, as this year has gone on my resolve has faded. I've become more tired, so no more waking up early to read my Bible. Life has gotten "busy", so no more consistent working out-especially since I don't have that 2 times a week already scheduled in. And I can feel the difference. I am spiritually and physically sluggish. My energy doesn't seem the same as it did previously in the year. And recently, my dad found out he is diabetic-something that apparently runs in my family. So it is time for that resolve to pick back up. I am ready to embrace this journey of real change and getting back to being spiritually and physically healthy! It is crazy how much the two are linked. I've been thinking a lot about gluttony-the forgotten sin. And although, I'm not exactly sure what to say about it yet, I know that it's something I have got to change. No more Sonic shake runs or cookie logs-sad to say. God gave me a temple and I want to use it for His glory! 

So I am ready to embark on this new adventure, trying to whip into shape for the better!

Go in the Strength You Have ::[February 25th, 2013]::

I was scrolling back through my tumblr today, and ran across this post from February. I think it's a sentiment I can stand to hear again and again, so I hope that it blesses you in some way.

"Yesterday at church, we read in Judges the story of Gideon-smallest member of the weakest tribe of Israel. God asked him to do something big, to face the enemies, the Midians. But Gideon counters God’s request with an excuse of “My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family." And how often do I feel like that? The weakest, least qualified person. But God calls Gideon “mighty warrior", He sees something bigger inside of Gideon than he himself can see. 

My favorite part of that passage is when God asks Gideon to go our to face the Midians, he tells him “Go in the strength you have…" (v.14) He tells him to go in the state he is in, not go work out, bulk up, maybe grab some back up, but in whatever shape he is at when the Lord speaks. It is so easy to make excuses when God calls to say “well, let me just finish this thing up" or “I’m not qualified for this, let me train some". But God doesn’t wait on our timing. He uses us in whatever situation we are in, even if it is a crumpled mess on the ground. His strength compensates for “the strength you have" and He accomplishes immensely more than we can ever imagine. 

So today, even in the small things-go in the strength you have. Go let God do great things through you."

Let Summer Begin!

First stop: Vacation! Spent a week and a half in the Carolinas with my family. Here are some pictures to prove it. 

Stopped by the Duck Commander/Buck Commander Warehouse
in West Monroe, LA

Climbed Chimney Rock

Visited Amelie's French Bakery in Charlotte, NC

Day trip to Mayberry (Mt Airy, NC), home
of Andy Griffith

Spent a day at Myrtle Beach, went to Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville
and walked around Broadway on the Beach

Took a carriage tour and walked down Rainbow Row in
Historic Charleston

Then I got back just in time to start my internship. I think I'm the first person in the history of ever to walk into one job and in a matter of hours, have a new job title. I am officially a youth intern again! Which meant leaving for Houston to do mission work that next weekend.

 [pictures to come]

To my fellow interns, share your best story of the summer so far. .....and GO!

Scars

Earlier this semester, I clumsily spilled scorching coffee down myself, wrecking my left forearm. For a couple of weeks after the incident, that part of my arm was coated in burn cream, gauzed out and wrapped-embarrassingly-in an ACE bandage. I felt ridiculous walking around campus and having repeatedly to answer what had happened, and I wasn't clever enough to come up with a crazy excuse for my misfortune. I laughed at my ridiculous situation, but hated it all the same. I missed class that afternoon because I had to wash my clothes and go to the nurse, and, let's just be honest, it ached and itched under that wrapping.

Now, 6 weeks later, I sport a sweet pinkish scar around the underside of my left arm. Although it is hardly distinguishable except in the right kind of light, I find myself looking at it a fair amount. 

Tonight as I sat glancing at the scar, wondering if it would eventually fade, I couldn't help but start to look at some of the other scars I have attained in my life. I have several small ones from when I had a dog and would, as a child, pester him and carry him around like a baby until he turned on me. Two matching ones on the front each lower-leg from a summer at Work Camp, when we were breaking up branches on a trailer and one sliced up both of my legs simultaneously. No cool surgery scars, unfortunately, but the list goes on. 

Some I am ashamed of, wishing they would disappear. Others are just a part of me, with a story, however insignificant.  And I couldn't help but think of how every person has their own scars, each one carrying a story of their own. I saw a movie the other day where these two people were on a date, and they started talking about how they got all their scars (weird, right?). And in a way, I loved that! It made me want to sit, swapping scar stories with someone. But it also made me both notice my scars more, and wonder about the scars of others. I don't just mean literal, physical scars either. 

We all start out as this "pristine" creature-no scratches, no bruises and definitely no scars. But as life happens, we begin to be cut, and hurt, and form these scars inside and out. Some scars fade away with time, while others remain visible for life. But the beautiful-and tragic-thing about those marks is that they each come with their own story. No two scars were acquired the exact same way and no two people have scars in the exact same place. 

And what is even more interesting is seeing how people handle having those scars. When I first got my burn, I had several people tell me to put Mederma-or some other kind of cream like that-on it so it wouldn't scar. Many people want to do whatever they can to make sure those marks are not seen by anyone else. They cover the markings with different lotions and creams to make it fade as quickly as it appeared, or just cover it with bandages. Others share the stories of their scars with anyone willing to listen. They sport it proudly, especially, I've noticed, if it comes with some kind of crazy story behind it.

Just like that, we each have our own scarred hearts. Ones that have been marked up with life's events. Scars from struggles and pain, even marks from love brushing past us. And one day, there will be someone who asks about those scars, and you can go about it one of two ways: try to cover them up the best you can, or sport it proudly and share the story of how you got them. There is part of me that loves the prospect sharing scar stories (physical and emotional). To know those seemingly insignificant events in someones life that affected them somehow physically, cutting deeply enough into the tissue to leave a mark. And the same for the marks on our heart. Hearing people's life stories is such a beautiful thing to me. I wish I sought out those opportunities more. 

So to all you scarred people out there, don't be ashamed of those marks. Learn to share the stories behind them, because no matter how embarrassing they may be, they are beautiful just the same.

My birthmark-looking coffee burn scar.

Relevant Mag ::[The Justice Side of Porn]::

I get emails from Relevant Magazine each week with some of the highlighted articles, and came across this one. I wanted to share it because, as I said a few weeks ago-fighting human trafficking is something I'm really passionate about. I know in my life, I have had friends addicted to porn that I wish so badly I could help. But this article shows that porn isn't only hurting you and those people around you, but people in other parts of the world are being victimized. I don't say that to guilt anyone who has an addiction, but just hoping to open everyone's eyes to think of human trafficking in different ways. It isn't just girls in brothels. It's people we walk past on the street, people we see in magazines, people who are millions of miles away or even right next door.

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/reject-apathy/loss-innocents/justice-side-porn