Running the Race

So I know that it’s that time of the semester when everything that we’ve seen coming starts to get closer and closer and suddenly, we  have 7 tests, 3 papers, a project and 4 books to read all in 3 weeks. We all start to feel really anxious, stressed, worrisome, we get circles under our eyes and are running on caffeine and adrenalin. Sound like that’s describing you?

First of all- “i’m too busy” is never an excuse to not be with God. Actually, there isn’t really any excuse that one can use to justify not taking the time to be with Him. Take 15 minutes out of your day and devote it strictly to Him and let Him calm your storms, for He is the Prince of peace.

Second of all- we can all get really caught up in needing to get good grades and I just want to remind you that your grades don’t define your character nor do they alter your purpose.  Yes, we should do the best we can in school but we should not make school our idol.  We do not live for our diploma, we live for our God. In the same way that we can’t serve God and money, we can’t serve God and school work.  So the next time you find yourself in a situation in which you’re getting yourself stressed out over a grade, remember that it’s not the end of the world and that He won’t allow you to go unprotected.

Philippians 4:5 says “Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.”  I read that the other day and I was taken aback.  Paul isn’t giving this charge to the Church just because he feels that if people were gentle then we’d all be happier.  Absolutely not!  He says ‘The Lord is near.’ This is a warning!  Gentleness is so absolutely important to God because it’s the way He wants His Truth to be shared.  Gentleness represents a part of who God is and the Church is made up of people who are chosen to represent God to the best of their abilities. (Galatians 5:22-23) Just as employees represent their boss and company, we are called to represent God and His Kingdom! If we aren’t doing the best that we can to glorify His name in everything that we do, are we doing our job? In the coming weeks, I’ll be blogging about different ways in which we, the Church, can effectively represent God, mostly through personal revelation, and hopefully these things will challenge you also in your personal pursuit of holiness.

So back to talking about gentleness, I know and will be the first one to admit that I am a sarcastic, loud and outspoken Italian woman who sometimes doesn’t know when to shut up.  (Yes, I’m flawed. Sue me.)  So I’ve been thinking of some actions I can take, along with prayer, to pursue gentleness more fully and would appreciate your prayers as I seek these out.

1) LISTEN!!

Anyone can sit across from someone and hear them chattering and then interrupt with their two cents about how to fix the problem or even with an entirely new topic and completely disregarding what the other person was saying.  I’m so guilty of that more times than not.  I am praying that when I am conversing with someone, I will be intent and proactive about giving them the attention that they deserve.  Even more importantly, we NEED to be actively listening to God before we can ever learn how to listen to others more effectively!  I believe that God wants us to be listening to Him so intently that all He needs to do is gently whisper and we’ll hear Him as we hear thunder (Job 37:5) and we can set that example by listening to our brothers and sisters as we are to listen to God.

2) EMPATHIZE!!

Empathy is not the same as sympathy.  Sympathy is to feel for someone as an outsider looking in; Empathy is to feel with someone as if you were in their shoes.  I know that I can be gentler with people if I took the time to put myself in their position and understand their viewpoint from where they are coming from as opposed to understanding it from where I am.  I’m not saying that a person’s circumstances are an excuse to act in a way that would be displeasing to God, you don’t have to agree with the person’s actions but, we CAN understand why they are acting in a certain way.  Here’s an image: My dear friend Casey (I have her permission to tell this story) was in South Africa this summer on an awesome 3 month long mission trip. She and her team went out one day and one of her roommates left a window opened in their cabin.  They come back to find monkeys had gotten in and pretty much ransacked Casey’s belongings.  Her reaction: She was furious, yelled at her roommate and screamed all throughout the cabin for a good hour.  Now, her teammates had a few options on handling this situation.  1) Tell Casey that she’s being overly sensitive or overreacting or 2) understand why Casey got angry, justify her feelings and then help her to see that her actions are not the most righteous.  The first option is to confront Casey in a way that discredits where she is coming from and comes off as harsh and dismissive.  The second option demonstrates empathy, which in turn offers encouragement and confrontation with gentleness.  (Proverbs 11:12; Proverbs 16:22) God is ALWAYS going to understand from our level and that is how we should aspire to treat others as well.  By practicing empathy, gentleness is a result.

3) RESPOND!!

When someone says something or does something towards us and we feel the need to passionately disagree or retaliate, acting on those feelings is reacting to the situation.  Taking time to think about and understand all aspects of that something before acting is responding. Example: Someone could come up to you and punch you in the face.  What is your first instinct?  Well, mine is to punch them back, harder.  That would be reacting.  Responding would be to take a minute, remember what God asks of you and use that as your motivation to take the next step. (Matthew 5:38-40) In summary, reacting is action based on feelings and responding is action based on understanding.  Being more responsive causes me to be gentler in my actions and I pray that I would be reminded of that during the struggles of everyday life.  The way you listen affects the way you respond and responding gently as opposed to harsh or not responding at all is an example of how God responds to us. If God were to react based on feelings, the world would have blown up a long time ago.

So, again, LISTEN to what the person is saying, take the time you need to understand and EMPATHIZE with them and then RESPOND with gentleness. In Luke 2:45-47, Jesus sets this perfect example. Let’s show people how God wants His conversations with us to be!!

Hey everyone!

When you get a minute, you should definitely check out 24/7 Christian Church’s new website!! Steve did an AWESOME job at getting it up and it’s still being built so he’s working hard!

Let us know what you think!!

The retreat ended up being really awesome this past weekend.  People heard the Gospel and God’s name was glorified AND we got to have a ton of fun.  I ended up being the first one awake each morning and I really enjoyed that because I got to experience the quiet and the calm with little distraction.  The first morning I woke up and took my bible and journal out onto the dock to spend my morning with God.  After I had read Philippians 3 , I just sat and stared out into the bay and watched the calm water flow and the high grass on the little island across the way sway in the gentle breeze.  I realized that I was living out Psalm 23:2.  Realizing this, I opened up my bible to that psalm and read through it slowly, meditating on each verse to take in their truth and realize how they directly relate to my life in the present.

I got to Psalm 23:5 and I almost exploded with joy and then was overcome by peace.  Here’s the truth: Everyone else can hate you and God will still prepare a table for you,  He will still have the same purpose for you, and you are always called to pursue holiness, righteousness and excellence.  (Titus 2:11-13) Every human has the potential for conjuring warped views of each other, but when God sees us, He sees the blood of Christ.  This is the reason for perseverance- not because you need to please the world but because you need to please God despite what the world may think; in all seasons.

Now, I’m not saying to ignore those close to you who may confront you or call you out on something because it’s biblical to come at each other with love and grace and because we need to be humble in that others will see things that we may not be able to see.  (2 Timothy 4:1-3) What I am saying is NOTHING, not people nor circumstances, can alter your purpose or the way God sees you.

Here’s my challenge: Let’s pray to God that He will let us see each other, the world, His creation with His Holy Eyes.  Let’s pray that we would start to see people for their best and not their worst.  Let’s pray for the ability see ourselves as chosen children of God whom He will prepare a table for even if no one else, not even ourselves, will and believe it with our entire Spirit.

So I haven’t updated my blog with anything that is slightly interesting in an incredibly long time. To remedy this situation, I’m going to just skim through my journal and write out some key points as to share what God has been doing in my life and teaching me through reading His word and being with Him in prayer and everyday life.

6/29/09- Living is so much more than just surviving.

6/29/09- God asks us to be responsible with our money and sexuality not to tease us but because He wants us to do greater things with them that we can’t see right now.

7/6/09- What is so intimidating about man that we are more afraid of them than God?

7/20/09- Knocking down a wall delays the building of a house. Doing something that you have already learned is wrong does nothing for your growth, rather, you stand still.

7/27/09- Salvation is sometimes tacked onto my life.  The people of the OT had their life revolve around their salvation.

7/27/09- Telling someone to do something that they are not driven to do is unlikely to bear fruit.

8/1/09- “I have all day” is never a good excuse to put something off because “all day” is never promised.

8/1/09- Don’t give someone the pleasure of saying “I told you so.”

8/2/09- The way that you treat people should never be the result of what mood you’re in.  If that was the case, then God should have blown up the earth a long time ago.

8/3/09- Our path is not supposed to be easy, it’s supposed to be excellent!

8/3/09- It’s so easy to think that just because we are shown the light, we can walk into it by ourselves.  Oh the pride of humanity.

8/3/09- In the times that we are desperately crying out for God are the times that we realize how fearful we are without Him.

8/4/09- I realized on this day that Proverbs 3 is one of the greatest chapters I have ever read.  God specifically tells us that it’s all about our hearts, not about what laws we know and follow.

8/9/09- Only when we realize that God sees us with such worthiness will we be able to believe that we ourselves are worth more than we know.

8/9/09- We need to find our worth in God before we can ever expect to love others powerfully or be loved and accept it humbly.

8/9/09- 1 Peter 3:3-4- Ladies, SERIOUSLY take that as awesome truth.

8/12/09- Don’t just know what’s right, fight for it!

8/12/09- Taking advantage of people is NEVER ok.

9/1/09- At least one person is always watching you and you are given the chance to encourage them.

9/1/09- Don’t ever be afraid to pull someone up to your position or to even lift them above your own head and push them higher than yourself.

9/2/09- Really glad that I was able to read this post by Perry Noble

As of the last week or so I have gotten so excited about the vision that God has set out for 24/7.  The staff and leader’s hearts are on fire to see people with no hope get filled with life and I cannot WAIT to see the amazing things that He has in store for us because He promises to do things that I can’t imagine, and I’m pretty creative and imaginative.  I’m so excited about the women’s conference, ‘Back to Basics’, in October which we’re going to have more information about soon, because I know that God has called the women of this church to be excellent and powerful examples of the gospel! I’m also super excited about serving alongside of Tim, Steve, Jason, Tom, Laura and the other leaders and volunteers who play a more important role in this ministry than I will ever be able to explain.  Their encouragement, passion, integrity, and wisdom are so very admirable and I truly respect them and their amazing abilities and giftings.  God is so awesome in His promises that He will use the people in which He has chosen to build His church and that pumps me up!

Until next time….

This treasure that we have in jars of clay is more precious than all of the children. It is more valuable than all of the gold and diamonds. It is more powerful than the atomic bomb. God can do absolutely amazing things that will blow our minds if we continue to beg for His will to be done despite our own selfish desires. I continue to pray that His grace and mercy would flow like a river and that all of the feeble dams and walls that we have built up would be crushed to dust so that God may work through us so freely; that we would rejoice in not only the work that is being done around us but also of the work that is being done in us. We are in need of constant molding and continuous reshaping. I pray that we would not tread these waters of life lightly. I pray that we would stand on the Rock in the face of the storm with confidence in Jesus Christ; that He had, has and will always have the power to calm it and I pray that we will declare the same by the power of the Holy Spirit. God, You are ever lasting, ever faithful, ever true, steadfast, constant, a healer, a comforter, all knowing, mighty to save, compassionate, FORGIVING, gracious, patient, just and so much more. God, above all, You are love. I am so humbled that even though all of this is true, they are still not even close to defining You. You are indefinite. You just are. You are the great ‘I am’ because You don’t need to explain Yourself. You created all of this, the sun, the moon, stars, clouds, sky, dirt, trees, grass, rain, snow, planets, etc. You are so big and we are so small and yet we are important to You?! There are so many things yet You choose to love and look after us. You are an awesome God. To love something that hurts, turns away from and sin against You with no record of wrongs is a love so powerful that I continually pray it will be revealed to me, piece by piece. By the power of the Holy Trinity, God I claim Your people for You. God I claim and beg for You to move bigger mountains than we have seen. God I pray for big things, bigger than we can even comprehend. I pray that we would not only say the words that we sing but believe them and proclaim them. I pray that You would reveal Yourself to Your children and make Yourself so evident in our lives that we would refuse to be denied Your greatness. God, You are all that we need. In every situation, God, You were, are and always will be.

God, You always find me in the darkness of night

Lord, I always try too hard to walk into Your light

Walking on water, I start to sink

I run away and question everything I’ve ever seen

And I find myself looking up from the floor at Your feet

Surrendering to You that sometimes I just don’t believe that

Your truth gives me strength

Your promise gives me hope

Your loves gives me faith

Your cross gives me grace, I know

And I find myself looking up from the floor at Your feet

Surrendering to You that sometimes I just don’t believe

And You pull me up and hold me close and whisper in my ear

That You’ll never leave my side and I have nothing to fear because

Your truth gives me strength

Your promies gives me hope

Your love gives me faith

Your cross gives me grace, I know

And I can’t help but cry out loud sweet praises to Your name

Knowing that You’ll change my heart and I’ll never be the same

Lord, You always rescue me from the lies that satan told

Lord, You always warm my heart even after it’s turned cold

And we laugh and cry that finally I’ve come home again

A prodigal so lost and found that You still wish to send

And I can’t help but cry out loud sweet praises to Your name

Knowing that You’ll change my heart and I’ll never be the same because

Your truth gives me strength

Your promies gives me hope

Your love gives me faith

Your cross gives me grace, I know

That this is where I long to be,

Looking up from the floor at Your feet

I know this is where I long to be

Looking up from the floor at Your feet

I feel like this song has so much more meaning now than when I wrote it…

So I haven’t written in a really long time. The last time I wrote I was still in Jersey. Weird. A lot has happened since then. I feel like 2 Corinthians 4 can sum up a lot of my life the past monthish.

I recently finished reading Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. I must say that everyone I spoke to about it got extremely excited when I said that I was going to read it so the expectation was pretty high going into it. I’ll admit that it was a good book. I enjoyed Miller’s writing style. But it wasn’t as amazing or inspiring as everyone built it up to be except for one thing that really hit me hard. There is a chapter towards the end where he talks about loving your neighbor as you would love yourself (Mark 12:31, Romans 13:9, Galatians 5:13-15) and he goes on to say that he treats himself horribly and would never think to treat anyone else the same way. It’s like he’s treating others better than he is treating himself and that doesn’t sit right with him. I realized from this that I do the exact same thing. I would never treat others the way that I treat myself. I don’t treat myself that well and I find myself repenting about this all the time lately.

God is really showing me that it’s important to remember that we are His children and through that, how we undeservingly deserve to be treated by others and by ourselves.

Two weeks ago, if I were to love my neighbor as myself…..

-I would tell them that they were worthless

-I would beat them up

-I would make them feel like they weren’t good enough

-I would feed their insecurities

-I would convince them that they need to live up to the world’s expectations

-I would tell them to give into authority figures even if it’s against God’s will

Let’s just say that people wouldn’t have been lifted up if I treated them the way I was treating myself. Look at the way that you treat yourself and ask yourself if you would do that to someone else.

God has brought me into a new light and is revealing to me more about myself everyday. I am learning what it is to be a woman of God and what I am to expect and what my responsibilities are with being that. Learning how to stand firm in the truth (2 Timothy 1:7), how to hold people accountable in love (James 1:19), discerning what I am called to do and what is put on my heart (Psalm 119:124-126), and learning to embrace the person that God made me to be and to embrace the changes that He is going to make in me (Psalm 25:5).

DUMB!! Ok, so I mean, it’s not all that dumb at all.  The trip to Greensboro has been postponed by 2 days.  Now I’m getting back on the 26th instead of the 24th.  Nick doesn’t have to go to that orientation in Florida (yay) therefore he doesn’t have to get back to Greensboro early therefore he is staying the whole time in Long Island on the mission trip.  Now, this is completely awesome.  I mean, they are serving the Lord and I freaking love it.  I just want to get back to Greensboro!! I mean I was kind of bummed when I found out because I was planning on showing up in Long Island the night before I said I was going to to surprise everybody and I was going to be showing up in Greensboro on the 24th instead of the 25th to surprise Laura because everyone pretty much knew except for her.  I guess I’m more bummed that my surprises were foiled.  I mean, I’ve waited this long, two more days isn’t all that bad.  The youth has to pass through Jersey on their way back to Greensboro so we’re gonna meet up and then I’ll follow them back to the Boro.  Mehh!

So patience.  Definitely something that I have little of and definitely something that God is trying to teach me to have more of.  Not being able to sing is KILLING me.  I can’t wait to get better that I just HAVE to do it anyway.  I think it’s so hard for me to wait for things because I know that they are coming and I know that they are going to make me so incredibly happy.  It’s kind of like this whole surprises thing.  I love surprising people.  When I can actually keep it a surprise, that is.  I generally can’t keep a surprise from someone just because I’m so freaking excited about it and about how it’s going to make them feel and to see their reaction that I just bust at the seams.  So why am I not like that about Jesus all the time?  Why isn’t God something that I just can’t not talk about.  Why am I not always wanting to explode and tell everyone about Jesus?

I think having patience takes a lot of trust.  Waiting for something to come is trusting that it will actually come and if it doesn’t, waiting for what is supposed to come takes even more trust.  But then why should it take more trust if all of my trust was there in the first place?  Unless it wasn’t.

Having patience is about letting go of the reins and just hoping that I’ll end up where I’m supposed to be.  So patience = trust.  Surprises = Jesus.  Oh, how simple it all sounds.

ok. so i remember when i was in high school and i had this theory that whenever things were going good, something bad was bound to happen. Like, whenever i was happy or content, it was just a sign that was saying that i wasn’t going to be that way for long. so, lately, like EVERYTHING has just been so exciting and amazing and i’m sooo happy and i’m just nervous that something is going to happen. Like, ok, i guess the thing that i’m most nervous about is all of the driving i’ll be doing this next week.  i’m driving up to Long Island to see the youth and to get Nick and i’m nervous about the drive because it’s like a million differentroads and driving over the GWB and idk, it’s probably just my dad getting it into my head that the roads aren’t that great.  I was praying about it and just asking God if i was being silly about it all and He was just like ‘you’ll be fine. i’ll provide.’  so now i thought, ok, i’m just being silly.  it’s just driving, just like i do any other day.  if i get lost, i get lost and i find my way back.  i’m just nervous about getting into an accident because that would suck. and i can’t wait to get back to greensboro!!! ahh!! but yeah, so just be praying for safe travels please.  i’m so excited to get back it’s not even funny.  i can’t sit still, my mind is racing, i’m just crazy.  God is just providing and being awesome as always and i just really love Him!! ahh! 7 days!