The Pursuit.

“Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.” Food for thought. I need to get better at trying things that I'm not sure if I can master. In that way, I allow God to get the glory for my triumph, and I learn to trust him more. =) Then, of course, I will grow.  Growth is such a beautiful thing, yes? Nothing around us stays the same. Everything is always growing.. changing. I love it. I love the beauty of creation and how it reflects the creativity of our Creator God. =) He amazes me every day.  A few days ago I came home from work late. I live in the country, and as I got out of my car I looked up. The sky was FULL of stars. There is something so majestic about stars. I took an Astronomy class a year or so ago, so I know a little more detail about stars than some might. The more I learn, the more I marvel at God's craftsmanship.  In class right now, we are learning about oxygenation and perfusion. Basically th...

Isn't it amazing how the love of Jesus covers our sins? I don't know about you, but I mess up rather frequently. I am far from perfect. I've been thinking about this a lot the past week, because I have had more than one opportunity to beat myself up over something I've done. The old habits of self-condemnation try to come back and lies like, "why do you even try? You're never going to be good enough. It doesn't really matter anyways right?" Thankfully I know those statements aren't true. But there was a time when I would have beaten myself up and believed those very lies. It wasn't that long ago when I truly believed I was an awful person who wasn't good enough and who never would be. I believed that I wasn't worth it. That feels so awful to me now. It makes me sad that I used to believe those things about myself, and it makes me angry that I allowed the devil to tell me those lies for so long. Because now I know the truth. And the ...

I really want to get in better shape. I am pretty sure I have been saying this for awhile. Actually I know I have. I am the queen of good intentions, but in the area of healthy diet/exercise I am not very disciplined. Thankfully, discipline is something learned.. so somehow I just have to learn it. Funny how we can be disciplined in one area but not in the other.. hmm.. Anyway, so what I would like to do is start taking zumba classes. I've tried it once before and I loved it but I hadn't found anything near where I live till recently. Hopefully this will work out! I'm just afraid that this will turn out like everything else... I go for a few weeks then quit because I get lazy. =/ Despite my sedentary lifestyle, I find that my biggest challenge is my eating habits. I love food! And I seem to love the sugary, salty, fattening, calorie and carbohydrate laden kinds of food. I have definitely been educated on what foods are healthy and all that. I have the tools to make go...

I want to address my fellow Christian brothers and sisters here. I have a few questions for you. What is the point of following Jesus, if you don't let him change you? As Christians, we are called to be radically different. We are not called to be polished versions of the world and we are not called to be politically correct. Jesus was considered a rebel in his time and was arrested and killed for his ministry. I'm not saying that we all should go get arrested for the sake of the gospel, but we need to live that way. If you're worried about offending someone because you believe and they don't... that's a problem. We should not have to apologize for what we believe. I'm not saying that we should shove our faith down someone's throat, but don't back down because someone doesn't agree with you. Be firm in what you believe. So if you claim to be a Christian, but your lifestyle is that of the world, are you really a Christian? I'm not referring to...

Nothing worth doing is ever going to be easy. If you really want something you have to suck it up, put your nose to the grind, and just do it. Yeah, I know that was an overuse of cliches right there. :) This is something I am learning in more than one aspect of my life right now. I can't say it's the most fun lesson I have ever had to learn. :( In my relationship with the Lord, if I want further intimacy I have to push in deeper. Intimacy with the Lord doesn't just happen overnight. It's like in any relationship. Closeness takes time. The people you know the best are generally the ones you spend the most time with. It's the same with the Lord. I am also learning this with school. I really want to be a nurse. I knew going into it that nursing school was going to be difficult, but being told that doesn't exactly prepare you for when it happens. I have been sick the past few days and really not into the whole studying thing. It's hard to concentrate on so...