The Ugliness of Sin

Today, I had another glimpse of the ugliness of the body of Christ. Every time I see it, I find myself taken aback, not expecting such hurtful words to come from someone who claims to be a follower of Jesus. I am also reminded why so many don't like us "Christians", and how they don't want to have anything to do with our Christ because they know if we are his followers and act like we do sometimes, He can't be very nice.

In Corinth, the same ugliness that I experienced today was going on. The Apostle Paul tells believers there to "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ" (1 Cor. 11:1).

When I read this, I think back and wonder if I am a good example of Christ to the world who does not know Him.

My Christ is humble.
My Christ is loving.
My Christ is forgiving.
My Christ cares deeply, and wants to have a relationship with his followers.
My Christ sat with the least and the lost.
My Christ served even when he was tired.

Is that what I imitate? That's what I want to imitate to the world. I want them to see Him in me. I have to remember though that my flesh is ugly, and that if I'm not careful, it will rear its ugly head, just like it does sometimes in others. I need to give grace, and I need to not give up the fight.

Paul continues in his letter to another city struggling, "Whatever you have learned, received, heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."(Phil. 4:9)

It's all about practice, and keeping our focus on our Christ, who is infinitely more than we can ever imagine.

As the Years Go By

I haven't blogged in a little over 3 years - how has it gone by that fast?

 A lot has happened in the past 3 years. I got engaged to the man of my dreams:

We got married in my church's Chapel that sits a top the same hill that for years I had gone to pray for my future husband.

(Isn't my husband handsome?!) 

 We bought a house and adopted our first fur baby: Phoebe

A lot has happened, and time has been flying by.

 I decided to start writing again, not because I think anyone but my husband probably reads it, but because it helps me to process what God is teaching me. If you do happen to come across my wandering thoughts, I do hope it is an encouragement, and that you see glimpses of the Great One, and not my many failings.

Learning through photos

So tonight I spent the majority of the evening scanning pictures for a funeral at the church tomorrow. One of our designers was a close friend, and he asked us to help him out.

Suzanne and I decided to divide and conquer. I took home an envelope of pictures for a woman who I had never heard of before yesterday when Britt called to ask me for help. And though I never knew her, I spent the evening looking at her photos and getting a glimpse of who she was. I saw picture after picture of her laughing. I saw her dressed in a clown outfit entertaining children. I saw her in various locations around the globe, serving her true love and his good news. I saw her with family and friends just enjoying life together. I'm truly sad that I never had the opportunity to know this lady.

After finishing all this, it makes me wonder what people would think of me after looking at my life in a few pictures. Would they think that I experienced the world? Would they see me laughing and constantly enjoying life? Would they see me as one sharing my true love with others? Would they see me bravely loving without limits? Would they see me as someone who boldly tried new things and saw new places? Who would I be?

Something to ponder on...life really is short, and it's flying by! There's so much to do and see - do we really make the most of our time on Earth? Or are we frozen by our fears of "what if?"



At the edge of a waterfall - terrifyingly beautiful

A Life After Nothing But School

No more teachers, no more books....you know how it goes. As all the students go back whining and complaining about getting up early again and wishing they hadn't waited until the last minute to do their summer reading, I am finally relishing in what it means to not be in school. Sure I had summers, but it's completely different having the summer knowing that you still have school come August.

I finally realized it the other night when I got home from work, and noted to my roommate, "I don't know what to do." She knowing me fairly well pointed out that maybe something relaxing or fun. What's that?

Now a month into my new job, I am learning the gloriousness that is working full-time and not taking classes. I can go run or go body pump, (or pump as my mother and boyfriend call it); I can write; I can simply watch TV (though not that much worth watching is on); I can even read for pleasure (what a novel idea - no pun intended).

I am beginning to see that part of the reason I was so miserable the first time I worked full-time is that I was missing out on all the little joys in life. Take today for instance, I got to walk to the main building which meant I was outside for at least 10 minutes in the sun (ah Vitamin D). I also got the chance to see my boyfriend, which happens only rarely during the weeks. I even managed to empty both my work and personal e-mail in-boxes.

I am beginning to see how important that it is that I take pleasures in small things, like hugs, high-fives and smiley faces on emails. I think often times we get so caught up in the negatives - "I didn't get anything done today" instead of "Wow, I got to spend some quality time with a loved one or someone who needed me to listen." "So and so did or said this and hurt my feelings" instead of "I didn't appreciate the comment, but it wasn't about me - moving on."

As corny as it sounds, it really is about enjoying all the little blessings that God gives us. The big blessings come and go, but God always wants to encourage His people. The little blessings will always be around.

A great example of this is the praying mantis that came to visit the Communications Department at Perimeter this past week. It was one of those weeks where each day was more difficult than the previous. I think at some point everyone cried that week. God sent a praying mantis who rode with me on the way to work. They are so rare, and I was so shocked to have one. He just watched me with his cute little face when we stopped, and then he'd turn to enjoy the wind on his wings as we drove through the Target parking lot. Mr. Mantis then hopped onto my co-worker's car and rode with her to Starbucks; I'm guessing to get his morning coffee? He was our little blessing of the day. The praying mantis was with us; so God must have been too. The week only got better from there :)



All that to say, enjoy the free moments and the busy moments. Enjoy the smiles that you get, and the hugs from loved ones. Enjoy the small pleasures like amazing sunsets and beautiful sunrises. Thank Him for everything - it's just Him reminding you constantly of His love.

Taking Steps of Faith

So recently I'm learning that sometimes unanswered prayers mean God wants us to take a step of faith and trust Him. I signed another lease at my apartment without having a job - big step of faith. I decided to apply to every middle school and high school in the greater north metro area of Atlanta - gutsy step of faith. I even agreed to help my cousin start a ministry - huge step of faith!

My cousin, Doug and I have been talking about our passion to reach the younger generations for a few years now. We both feel like youth are missing out on understanding who they are, and as a result, it's very hard to focus on a vision and living a life of purpose as a young adult or adolescent. We also feel like the Christian leadership could use some refocusing. So many ministries have all these great talents and tools, and yet some are missing out on using them because of lack of focus. We want to help everyone focus more on Him and His goals, and see a great work happen.

How can you help? I thought you'd never ask! We are starting by doing a survey to get an idea of how well our dimensions work. The survey is about 100 questions, and it takes about 10-15 minutes to do. You can find it here:

www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=T_2fJErzjFcnpTS_2bVk55Me8A_3d_3d

If you find your anti-virus is popping up, it's not a virus; just us tracking how many people are visiting the link. Please send it to your friends, family, distant cousins, co-workers and next door neighbors! We need as many people as possible to take it to increase the accuracy of our assessment.

Thank you so much for helping us out!!

Getting Old

(Sara and I decorating part 1)

So yesterday I turned 26...yes I'm officially getting old. My mother reminded me that she was 26 when she had me - yes thank you mother for reminding me :) I have to admit that I don't mind it. I've discovered a couple fun things about getting old:

- You get fun practical gifts like blender (Smoothies to come later today!)

- You have a good excuse to get lots of sleep

- Family becomes closer (even wanting to share things like pink eye - gross)

- You can try new things without having to worry about what others think (cake decorating, banana chocochip cookies, crazy exercise classes...)

- You can say things like "I'm older and wiser" when having debates

- You realize that you can be content with very little

- You see what true friendship is

- You are one step closer to the Senior Citizens Discount at the movies

25 was a good year - What will the year 26 bring me?




(Erinn's red eye)



(I'm one blessed girl:) )

Perfection and Church Ladies

I've had a lot more time lately to do some soul searching and struggling. I've also had a lot of time to be more social now that school is over until June (yay!). I went with some of my friends to see the "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past". While it was a good movie for a girls night out, it just made me sad. So many women and girls date for the wrong reasons - to fill an emptiness that God can only fill.

I've been reading this book called, "Do You Think I'm Beautiful?" by Angela Thomas, and she addresses these issues. Women are constantly asking if others think we are beautiful, if we are worthy of attention, or if we can be loved. While we can run to guys, they can only do so much (no offense guys - some of you are pretty great, but nothing can match up to the Creator's love).

I think my biggest struggle in this is the need to be perfect. In my head, I know logically this is not possible - only Jesus is perfect. But for some dumb reason, my heart wants to keep trying. I want to have perfect relationships, a perfect D-group, a perfect job, perfect abilities to make perfect dinners - I could go on and on, but I'll spare you :)

Slowly, I'm learning that it's not about the appearance. I've been striving to be this "church lady" as Angela calls them - the ones that appear to be perfect and have it all together. However, we can't have it all together - what would be the point of us still being here? We are here to learn, and endure the painful process of sanctification.

Last night I came across this, and it was one of those light bulb moments...

"...maturity in Christ has more to do with understanding the depths of God's grace and forgiveness. Maturity in Christ is about consistent pursuit in spite of the attacks and setbacks. Maturity in Christ is not about finally attaining some level of pseudo-perfection. It is about remaining in the arms of God. Abiding and staying, even in my weakness, even in my failure."

Here's to being more like a non-church, non-perfect lady :)