Although I am a HUGE Disney fan (maybe one of the biggest)... I am not talking about Peter Pan here. As nice as it would be to never grow up, change and growth is inevitable- and exciting!! Since I graduated in May I have spent the last 9 months trying to figure out how to be a grown up. It isn't an easy task! I have made plenty of dumb decisions and I am sure I have plenty more ahead of me. It never ceases to amaze me how every time that I begin to wander down the wrong path, Jesus uses something or someone to grab my hand and pull me back to Him. I am slowly starting to realize that the excitement of being a grown up in the real world isn't half as great as the excitement of becoming a spiritual grown up.
In 1 Peter 2, Peter talks about becoming a spiritual grown up. I love verse 2... it says "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good." This is so encouraging to me at this point in my life because sometimes I feel like I am walking through days blind-folded, trying to figure out this whole grown up thing. I want to crave the "spiritual milk" that Peter talks about so that I can be a grown up in my salvation. What is the point in trying to be a grown up in the "real world" if I'm not a grown up walking in the light of Jesus?
My most frustrating thing that I deal with on a daily basis at work is people in the outside agencies that I work with not taking me seriously because of my age. Just when I am feeling confident in my job and like I'm getting the hang of being a professional, someone makes a comment about my age or doesn't take me serious or respect me because I am so young. I feel like I have to work twice as hard to earn the respect of other professionals, and earn the respect from even my clients because I am young. One day I was really struggling with this and having what I call an "emotional breakdown" (I have those often) and Jesus led me to 1 Timothy 4. He said to me "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, life, love and purity." Perfect, and exactly what I needed to hear. When I wake up in the mornings before another day at attempting to survive in the "big girl world", I now ask Jesus to feed me with my "spiritual milk" so that I can set an example for anyone that I come in contact with- no matter the age- through my faith. Like it says in Romans 8, "if my God is for me, WHO can be against me?" My answer is absolutely NObody :). Love me some Peter Pan, but unfortunately the world isn't "never neverland"... so I'm gonna keep striving to humble myself before the Lord like Peter, the desciple of Jesus.
Peace out trouts :)
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Monday, January 31, 2011
Cast your burdens unto Jesus, He cares for you :)
I've officially given into the blog! I'm not much of a writer so I never thought I would... but now that both my sisters have started and I realize how much I enjoy reading theirs, I've joined the club! I figure this can also take the place of journaling during my daily devotions... I've been meaning to do that too :).
Jesus has a funny funny sense of humor... It seems like every time I question his plans for me, He tests my faith to let me know to remember He is in total control! I did a 3 week fast to focus on what God's plans are for me and make a conscious effort to obey Him and just listen- boy did He ever reveal Himself! As I grew leaps & bounds in my faith those 3 weeks, I came off of the fast feeling refreshed and energized. Funny how as soon as we are confident in our faith, the devil tries to knock us a million steps back. Ever since the day after my fast ended, I have struggled with feeling defeated by several little things that Satan has thrown my way. Each day that I face a trial I think about the simplest words from the simplest song that we used to sing at Young Life camp when I was little: "Cast your burdens unto Jesus, He cares for you." It seems like I sing those words to myself on a daily basis these days. As I sing to myself I remember the other lines to the song... reminding me to lift Jesus higher and stomp Satan lower. It's amazing how much better I feel just making a conscious effort to stomp Satan lower when I feel him trying to steal my joy!
It has been apparent to me that even though I work in a faith-based agency with Christ-centered values, it isn't always bright and cheerful in the walls of The Next Door. Working with women who have been abused physically, emotionally and sexually and who have walked down the dark roads of addiction in and out of prison can be a very dark and challenging thing! I find myself having to pray constantly that Jesus will keep his angels around me and my co-workers so that the evil that has been stored up in these women will leave and that they will slowly be re-filled back up with the love and hope of Jesus. How can I give myself daily to 14 broken women if I haven't put the armor of God on myself first? I am a work in progress, but I am learning every day!
Jesus has a funny funny sense of humor... It seems like every time I question his plans for me, He tests my faith to let me know to remember He is in total control! I did a 3 week fast to focus on what God's plans are for me and make a conscious effort to obey Him and just listen- boy did He ever reveal Himself! As I grew leaps & bounds in my faith those 3 weeks, I came off of the fast feeling refreshed and energized. Funny how as soon as we are confident in our faith, the devil tries to knock us a million steps back. Ever since the day after my fast ended, I have struggled with feeling defeated by several little things that Satan has thrown my way. Each day that I face a trial I think about the simplest words from the simplest song that we used to sing at Young Life camp when I was little: "Cast your burdens unto Jesus, He cares for you." It seems like I sing those words to myself on a daily basis these days. As I sing to myself I remember the other lines to the song... reminding me to lift Jesus higher and stomp Satan lower. It's amazing how much better I feel just making a conscious effort to stomp Satan lower when I feel him trying to steal my joy!
It has been apparent to me that even though I work in a faith-based agency with Christ-centered values, it isn't always bright and cheerful in the walls of The Next Door. Working with women who have been abused physically, emotionally and sexually and who have walked down the dark roads of addiction in and out of prison can be a very dark and challenging thing! I find myself having to pray constantly that Jesus will keep his angels around me and my co-workers so that the evil that has been stored up in these women will leave and that they will slowly be re-filled back up with the love and hope of Jesus. How can I give myself daily to 14 broken women if I haven't put the armor of God on myself first? I am a work in progress, but I am learning every day!
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