Oh hellooooo blog...
I know, I've been pretty absent for oh, the last month and a half. It helps me seem cool and mysterious. Ok or maybe life has just been crazy..
As many of you may know, I am spending the summer in Tampa, FL on a 10 week missions training project with Campus Outreach called the Tampa Project. This is my second summer on the project and I am SO excited to be back! I arrived Friday afternoon and immediately felt at home, like I never left. Its been great so far :)
This summer I have been presented with the opportunity to serve and be a disciple leader on the project. This means that I have three girls that I will be discipling and kind of mentoring for the summer. The first two days were some leaders trainings, and finally the rest of the project arrived yesterday. I was so excited and nervous to meet the girls in my room. As soon as I found out one of them was arriving, I would literally sprint across the parking lot like a mad-man to meet them and introduce myself as their leader. The girls in my rooms' names are Belle, Mica, and Megan. I like them a lot already. They seem to like me so far...but I'm sure pretty soon they'll see how much of a lunatic I am so we'll see what happens then. Ha :)
I'm soooo excited to see what God is going to do this summer. I cannot wait to see the growth happen in my life, in my girls' lives, and how the city of Tampa is impacted by these 100 college students committed to glorifying the Lord with their summer and ultimately, their lives. The theme for the summer is "Undivided" with our theme verse being Psalm 86:11 which says "Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name."
Please pray that this verse would be a reality in my life, in Belle, Mica, and Megan's lives, and in the lives of everyone on project. Also, please pray that God would do big things in Tampa this summer and that he would grow each and every student on project in their faith. I can't wait to see God working and can't wait to share with you!
Much Love,
A.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
I'm so indecisive I couldn't even choose a title for this post
So.. for basically as long as I can remember I have wanted to be a teacher.. Specifically, an elementary teacher. I cannot pinpoint the moment in my life when I made this decision, but I'm pretty sure I was still in elementary school myself. Nearly ten years after stating my hopes and dreams for the future, I have finally put some thought into it. My thoughts, you ask? I don't know. I don't know if I want to be a teacher. Quite honestly, I don't really know what I want to do with my life at all.
The big issue here is the fact that I am extremely indecisive.. I may be the most indecisive person I know. I'm not really sure though, I couldn't decide.. Some days I change my t-shirt three or four times before deciding which one to wear. Yes...t-shirt. I work at Outback Steakhouse and often order food after my shift. I'm a server, so I have basically the entire menu memorized. It generally takes me about ten minutes of staring at the menu before I decide what to order..and it always ends up the same: grilled chicken and green beans. Every time.. I guess you could say I'm a creature of habit, or maybe just scared of branching out. For this reason also, I tend to act on impulse.. If I don't put too much thought into something, I can avoid the endless argument between my brain and...well..my brain.
Impulse is fine when it comes to a t-shirt or dinner, but this is my future we're talking about here.. The rest of my life weighs on the decisions I make right now. Are you overwhelmed reading this? Because I am.
Honestly..I just want to be a children's librarian. An ideal career for me would be introducing literature to young students. Many people develop either their passion for books or their avoidance of books in the elementary years. I want to help kids to be passionate about books, just as I am. I would be perfectly content with reading "Where the Wild Things Are" and "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" and all of Eric Carle's classics aloud to children for the rest of my life..
So what am I supposed to do? Well..your guess is as good as mine.. Thankfully, I have a much better source of comfort and direction than myself, or even you.
In Jeremiah 29, a letter is shared in which Jeremiah is delivering a message from the Lord to those who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. In verse 11, the Lord says "For I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.."
God promises a future to the exiles. He promises a future to me.. Sometimes..a lot of times actually..this is hard for me to believe.. Its hard for me to rest in the promises God has given me. I want control. I want answers. I rush around and around, trying to gain all the knowledge and improve my self and my circumstances instead of sitting and gazing at the one, true and holy God, asking him to give me vision for my life and my future..
Above all, I just want to glorify God with my life. Right now...I have no idea what that will look like and essentially have no plan for the future.. Call it indecisiveness, slacking, careless..whatever you want. Those things may be true.. I am fully aware of the fact that this attitude looks naive and stupid to the world, but I am also fully aware of my sovereign Lord who has a flawless plan for me and for my future.. While this does require me to work at seeking God and discerning his will...I think the biggest task for me right now is to give up control. To break free from my life-plan I've had since elementary school and just...follow God. We'll see what happens, right? :)
"You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Psalm 73:24-26
Much love,
A.
The big issue here is the fact that I am extremely indecisive.. I may be the most indecisive person I know. I'm not really sure though, I couldn't decide.. Some days I change my t-shirt three or four times before deciding which one to wear. Yes...t-shirt. I work at Outback Steakhouse and often order food after my shift. I'm a server, so I have basically the entire menu memorized. It generally takes me about ten minutes of staring at the menu before I decide what to order..and it always ends up the same: grilled chicken and green beans. Every time.. I guess you could say I'm a creature of habit, or maybe just scared of branching out. For this reason also, I tend to act on impulse.. If I don't put too much thought into something, I can avoid the endless argument between my brain and...well..my brain.
Impulse is fine when it comes to a t-shirt or dinner, but this is my future we're talking about here.. The rest of my life weighs on the decisions I make right now. Are you overwhelmed reading this? Because I am.
Honestly..I just want to be a children's librarian. An ideal career for me would be introducing literature to young students. Many people develop either their passion for books or their avoidance of books in the elementary years. I want to help kids to be passionate about books, just as I am. I would be perfectly content with reading "Where the Wild Things Are" and "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" and all of Eric Carle's classics aloud to children for the rest of my life..
So what am I supposed to do? Well..your guess is as good as mine.. Thankfully, I have a much better source of comfort and direction than myself, or even you.
In Jeremiah 29, a letter is shared in which Jeremiah is delivering a message from the Lord to those who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. In verse 11, the Lord says "For I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.."
God promises a future to the exiles. He promises a future to me.. Sometimes..a lot of times actually..this is hard for me to believe.. Its hard for me to rest in the promises God has given me. I want control. I want answers. I rush around and around, trying to gain all the knowledge and improve my self and my circumstances instead of sitting and gazing at the one, true and holy God, asking him to give me vision for my life and my future..
Above all, I just want to glorify God with my life. Right now...I have no idea what that will look like and essentially have no plan for the future.. Call it indecisiveness, slacking, careless..whatever you want. Those things may be true.. I am fully aware of the fact that this attitude looks naive and stupid to the world, but I am also fully aware of my sovereign Lord who has a flawless plan for me and for my future.. While this does require me to work at seeking God and discerning his will...I think the biggest task for me right now is to give up control. To break free from my life-plan I've had since elementary school and just...follow God. We'll see what happens, right? :)
"You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Psalm 73:24-26
Much love,
A.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Oh hey...I have a blog.
Well...here we are..
I have been wanting to start a blog for a while for some reason. I've always wished I were thoughtful and talented enough to be a writer...I suppose this will suffice.. I essentially have no plan or no organization for this..much like my everyday life.. Ha. This could definitely turn into a crazy compilation of the weirdo things that run through my mind on a daily basis. We'll see what happens. I feel like the fact that I started it at 1am on a Monday night may be a sign of what is to come.
I don't exactly know what is expected of me here.. Do I tell you about my day? And who are you, anyway? In all reality...you may not exist. These may merely be typed words that remain my thoughts and my thoughts alone..but that's the exciting thing about this whole blogging deal.
Well..now that I've tried to make myself sound thoughtful...
I'm really just a 20 year-old small town kid trying to figure out what the heck I'm supposed to be doing with my life and how to know and love God in the process.
Stay tuned for...life...in the fullest :)
Much love,
A.
I have been wanting to start a blog for a while for some reason. I've always wished I were thoughtful and talented enough to be a writer...I suppose this will suffice.. I essentially have no plan or no organization for this..much like my everyday life.. Ha. This could definitely turn into a crazy compilation of the weirdo things that run through my mind on a daily basis. We'll see what happens. I feel like the fact that I started it at 1am on a Monday night may be a sign of what is to come.
I don't exactly know what is expected of me here.. Do I tell you about my day? And who are you, anyway? In all reality...you may not exist. These may merely be typed words that remain my thoughts and my thoughts alone..but that's the exciting thing about this whole blogging deal.
Well..now that I've tried to make myself sound thoughtful...
I'm really just a 20 year-old small town kid trying to figure out what the heck I'm supposed to be doing with my life and how to know and love God in the process.
Stay tuned for...life...in the fullest :)
Much love,
A.
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