I'm a living vapor...

Ever since I watched, Courageous , I have found a greater appreciation for my dad. I was really inspired by the movie to go on this "Father-Daughter Date" because we've never done anything like it before. I'm not as open with my dad as I am with my mom, so this was going to be something new...for the both of us. Well, I'm so thankful to God for blessing me with the dad that I have. He might not fit the mold of a "perfect father" but I know he's trying. He has flaws and he makes mistakes, which make him perfectly human; yet, for my siblings and I, he makes for a real good role model to learn and grow from. It just amazes me how much of a difference he's changed since I was much younger. One of these significant differences I notice is his heart for the Lord. For the past 2/3 years, he's been pretty consistent in reading the whole bible for a year. I admire his diligence because he inspires me to want to be the same way, too! So our date . ...

God moves and works in supernatural ways—ways that are beyond human comprehension. He doesn't function according to our time table. Sometimes we think that God isn't answering our prayers or He's delaying His promises indefinitely...but did you know that His timing is impeccable? I remember hearing from a pastor give a brief talk about the way God sets life in order since the dawn of time. He made references to a passage in Mark 11 where it mentions the young donkey Jesus rode on and the fig tree Jesus cursed. I won't get into the specific details of their meaning and such, but I want you to notice something. God is a God of order, working out distinct details of every little thing. Nothing is randomized. When God formed the earth and set life in motion, He already knew that on that particular day, before Jesus was going to arrive in Jerusalem, in a village nearby the disciples will find a young donkey tied there and has never been ridden on. The same is true about th...

" Live Like We're Dying ," by Kris Allen. The chorus goes: Yea, we gotta start Looking at the hands of time we've been given If this is all we got and we gotta start thinking If every second counts on a clock that's ticking Gotta live like we're dying We only got 86,400 second in a day to Turn it all around or to throw it all away We gotta tell them that we love them While we got the chance to say Gotta live like we're dying I heard this the other day on the radio and I was reflecting on the message of the song. How should our lives look like when we live like we're dying? If death were imminent, that would seem to be the only time we realize how much we haven't taken advantage of the opportunities to tell people we love them or show them that we care. Often times we get caught up with the insignificance that we rarely remember what's  significant . Every day our lives involve constant interaction with the people around us (unles...

For about 2 years now, God has been placing in my heart a compassion for broken and vulnerable people.  This desire is something we should already be developing as we grow in our love for God (see Matthew 22:37-39) and lately this has been weighing heavily on my mind. Today I've been hearing stories of people who have been affected by the choices and actions of others. I want to share just a few accounts: 1. Today at Switchboard, I received a call through the Teen Linkline (a youth-oriented telephone information and counseling service). The caller was a teen girl in high school. She said that she was hospitalized yesterday because of the painful headaches she receives from the stress at school. This stress, as she explained, was due to the verbal abuse she receives from a few classmates. She had just transferred to that particular school since classes began in the fall because she encountered the same experience in the previous year. She has a limited support system which incl...

How can something finite define someone infinite? One of the biggest mistakes we can make is to claim that we know all there is about God. We demand an explanation for the things we cannot understand, so we foolishly try to convince ourselves that we know the answer. Man, if we could really see just how limited our thinking can be... Consider the book of Job in the Bible. I find the last 9 chapters very fascinating. Elihu, the youngest dude among Job's friends, redirects Job's misunderstanding of the afflictions he experiences. Then starting in chapter 38, the Lord speaks to Job. He asks him: " Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. Who determined its dimensions And stretched out the surveying line? What supports its foundations, And who laid its cornerstone As the morning stars sang together And all the angels shouted for joy? " (v. 4-7)  " Have you explored the seas from which the seas come? Have you explo...

It's hard to love the unlovable, but it's possible. With tomorrow being Valentine's Day (that infamous holiday that some people tend to despise, lol) you can't help but face the concept of love from every direction. Obviously there is that romantic love between 2 people, but I believe that we must very well consider our love for God & others. In fact, it's commanded: Jesus replied, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" [Matthew 22: 37-39] Love the Lord your God... I don't have a hard time understanding that concept because God IS love. For most of us who recognize this, we can't help but reciprocate that love to our Awesome Creator. He is unchangeable, He knows all things, He sees all things; He's all powerful, loving, merciful, and just. There are (and will co...

This past Monday I had the opportunity to spend some time with the lovely women of Cru. Last semester we were able to have "women's time," which is why we're continuing with it now. It was such an incredible experience sharing our deepest secrets, insecurities, and struggles. I love and cherish the times we're together because I'm always encouraged by their life stories. I've learned that we all have stuff we keep behind closed doors--ashamed and fearful of what others may perceive when they see our true selves. I felt like I could relate to a lot of the women because I have found that I am the same exact way. What I've realized from what everyone was sharing was that we tend to feel "alone," as though no one could possibly understand what we're going through. We feel like our struggles are uniquely our own (which is true) but the physical, emotional, and spiritual pain resonates with the majority of the women. As the stories were being...