Faith, Hope, and Love

In some Christian circles, it is the "thing" to ask people their salvation story. How did you come to know the Lord? It is often on mission trip applications, volunteer forms, and it might even comes up when you're meeting your new boyfriend's friends, mentors or family. Someone, somewhere is going to ask. Tell us your testimony. This has always made me a little uncomfortable, or sometimes even rubbed me the wrong way. And then I'd feel guilt. Shouldn't I be excited to share my story? To shout from the rooftops the story of how God saved me, redeemed me, made me whole? So why do I feel a little bit of discomfort or shame when I think of my story? Of the place where I first met the Lord? It's taken me a while, but I realized it boiled down to one thing: I don't remember it.  I don't remember the day, the time, the moment where I first surrendered to His call and embraced the message of the Gospel. I grew up in a Christian home. When I w...

So just before I left for this mission trip, I re-read and finished the Gallagher Girl series by Ally Carter (awesome author, by the way). So... I'm going to take a page out of Cammie Morgan's book and create a pro and con list for everything I've experienced so far and what I've been taking away from this mission trip (also the amazing sisterhood I've seen among the daughters of As Our Own kind of reminds me of the GG sisterhood... only this one is real and a lot more life-changing, in my opinion). While the approach might be a little tounge-in-check/silly, there are two things I want to point out: There are infinitely more pros than cons. Many of the cons are actually just pros in disguise. Writing both out is in a way recording the little and big joys and gifts of this trip. Whether pro or con, I've learned so much about me, God, my relationships with Him and others. I'm still processing, and I don't feel radically different right now, but I a...

How is God calling us to care for the oppressed and the fatherless? As Christians we tend to do good works often--we spend a day volunteering or we donate a certain sum of money. We do our due diligence. We tell ourselves that we've made their lives better than it could or would have been. It's easy to think that providing a place for them to live, feeding them, and meeting basic survival needs is enough. But is it really? Earlier this week, one of my devotions was on identifying with the poor. It started out looking at Nehemiah 5: 14-18. Nehemiah was governor of the land, and his position entitled him to many great perks. But knowing that his people were poor, that they were suffering, led him to forsake what was rightfully his for their benefit and for God's glory. After all, isn't that what Jesus did for us? "Have in mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be ...

As I mentioned in an earlier post , I'm totally playing catch-up on a lot of the resources the IF:Gathering has on their website (I bought their conference webcast stuff and still haven't sat down to watch any of it yet). While doing this, I fell upon this spoken word piece by Amena Brown Owen and Ann Voskamp .   Can I just say, "Window to my soul?" Fear that I'll never move past my past... That I'll never be perfect, that I'll never be worth it, that I'll never be enough... Tug of war between my fear and my calling... Fear is my chain... He is second chances... His love never runs out... His love is looking for me. So who would I be, if I wasn't afraid? Where ever He takes me, He is always the Comforter. To take the weight on my backs and offer it back to the Savior... that my life may be chiseled by his pen. Who would I be? And what would I do?

Over the course of fifty-five days, the IF:Gathering lead women through the book of John with their IF:Equip initiative. We read a passage from the Bible and then ask/answer these three questions: If this is true, then what does it say about God? About you? About the world? They end each reading with a video of some awesome ladies sharing their own thoughts about that particular passage. I did a horrible job keeping up with the readings. In general, I do a horrible job about having a consistent, meaningful time meditating on His word. Something I'm working on--I get e-mail devotions, I'm part of a Bible study group, I carry my Bible in my purse at all times--but I still suck at consistency. With that being said, IF:Equip has wrapped up the book of John and is now moving on to the book of Acts (which my church just finished walking through over the last two years. Might be interested to read through it again and listen to insight from a different perspectives). So, I d...

When I look in the mirror, what do I see? To what do I attribute my identity? To get ready for my upcoming mission trip to India, we've been asked to "tell our story," and I'm struggling a lot with that. While I know  that being a Christian allows me to walk in grace, to leave behind shame and guilt and to see myself in all the beauty that God seems me (Easter was/is a good reminder of all that)... I don't always feel  that way and struggle to really embrace His truth about who I am. Instead, I think of all the labels I wear--daughter, sister, teacher, writer, friend, ex-girlfriend, Miss (versus Mrs.)--and I see a lot of failure. Failure as a daughter when I think of my years of rebellion and disobedience, when I don't call enough, or feel known by my parents (or even really know them). Failure as a sister because of all the years we lost being the closest friends we could be, and how I often take my siblings for granted. Failure as a teacher when I ...

Three days and all of history was change. Three days and all of life  was changed. On Friday, the crowd gathered to watch as He was walked to a hill, battered and bruised, and nailed to a cross. Saturday was silent; full of pain and confusion for those who loved Him, uncertainty and regret for those who had wanted to trust Him, empty triumph for those who hated Him. And then there was Sunday... oh, glorious Sunday.  Sunday led to an empty tomb, a risen Savior, to the defeat of Death.  How thankful we all should be for these three days.  Without Friday, no blood would have been shed to cleanse our sins and be the true sacrifice. Without Saturday, no chance for us to wait--to lie between despair and joy. Which might seem cruel, but the wait makes Sunday that much more victorious. Because without Sunday, there would have been no resurrection. No victory over death. No chance for a new life, an eternal  life.  As Christians, we tend to make...