An adventurous start to the day

So, it is only 7:40 in the morning and I have already started my day off with an adventure. This morning, I walked to the bus stop and was waiting for the bus and apparently was really tired, because I just got on the next bus that came my way. It happened to be a bus that would take me to school, but not the usual way that I take, so when it took a strange turn, I got off of it. I thought about getting back on when I saw which bus it was, but then realized that the bus that I generally take was right behind it. What I forgot to take into account was that I had turned in the wrong direction. So, I got on this bus and started riding it and was wondering if I was going the right way, when it finally got to the bus interchange and confirmed my fears. I had taken the right bus in the wrong direction. Thankfully, I leave early enough for school that I was able to get on the right bus in the right direction and still be here on time, but I don't have much time to get work done before 17 small bodies flood my classroom. As I write this, I am reminded of what we talked about in bible study yesterday relating to Hebrews 12:1. We discussed the phrase "let us throw off everything that hinders." We talked about how it is often good things that hinder us and make us focus on those things, rather than the goal, which is Christ. Often we are on the right bus heading in the wrong direction. We do the right things, but for the wrong reasons. It makes me ponder where my goal is? What direction am I heading? Why am I doing the things that I do? Is it to glorify God, or seek approval from others?

"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord"

I was watching the movie 'Courageous' tonight and it is so inspiring- for fathers... One of my favorite scenes is where Adam is doing his research about what it means to be a godly father and he says that he never knew how much the bible says about being a father. It made me wonder what the bible says about me in my stage of life. Then, I started wondering what that really means. I'm not a teen any more, I'm not a parent, or a wife. As I was looking at the books related to the movie, I noticed that there is a book for men- not me... a book for women... mainly about being a mother and wife, and a book for teens. I'm not trying to complain, but there are so many single adults who do not have much direction in their life. We either invest our lives in trying to get to the married stage of life, or marry ourselves off to our work, or having fun. What does the bible say about being a single adult? As far as I know that was not at all cultural in biblical times, so there is not much there, but maybe I should look it up. What can we as a church do to lead our single adults to live bold, godly lives? As singles, our houses our small, but we can still serve the Lord.

A sprinter's heart

I have realized lately that I am a sprinter at heart. When I was little, I remember I would do pretty well when it came to short races, but long distance races were exhausting and frustrating to me. I love swimming fast, quick spurts, but if you ask me to swim laps for very long, I get bored and frustrated.

The same is true about most things in life. I get super excited about doing something and I'll start on it, but if it takes very long to do, I won't complete it. I love getting involved in a lot of things, but I'm not very good at being consistent. I like to experience things for a short while, but then I give up. I will keep my room clean for a short time, but soon it is messy again. I will try to learn something new, but as soon as it gets frustrating, I am out. I get really involved in a new ministry for a while, but soon I get distracted with other new and exciting things to do.

That is one reason I am so amazed by God's faithfulness. Even though I mess up over and over again, God's doesn't try to move on to someone who might be better. He keeps working on me. Why? I'll never know.

My goal for this year is to be more consistent in the things I set out to do. Whether it's helping with the middle school youth group, keeping my room clean, losing weight, or learning how to surf. If I set out to do something, I don't want to give up on it.

The blessing of family

There are many days when I walk home and am grateful that I do not have the responsibility to take care of a family. I'm already not very good of taking care of myself, how would I have time to worry about a family?

Then, I get reminded of the beauty of family. I experience a home with kids running around and a mother cooking delicious food. I see an old couple walking along the road and talking. I can't even express the incredible longing that lies in my heart. The longing to live in a community, where I come home to a family that will love me through thick and thin, on the good days and the bad days. The longing that I have always had to have a close relationship with my grandparents who could teach and guide me. The longing to have someone to vent to and someone to listen to. The longing for a comforting lap on which to lay my tired head.

So I turn to God, the one called love, who leads, who guides, who listens, and comforts. I turn to the God who has a plan that is for the good of those who love him.