A (Post) Christmas Carol

Is it too late for another Christmas post?  KLove is still playing the Christmas tunes and New Years is kind of like a fake holiday, so I think I’m okay.

This Christmas I had two different encounters with A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.  The story is one that I always assumed I knew because it’s such a classic, but I realized this year that all I really knew about the story is that there’s a guy named Scrooge who says “bah humbug”, and I watched Melissa Zimmerman (when she was a Walters) in a theater production of the story when we were in about ninth grade.

Also, when it comes to fictional characters who hate Christmas, everything starts to blur together with The Grinch.

Needless to say, I really had no idea what A Christmas Carol is about.  This year, I got educated after our family went through a walking tour of A Christmas Carol exhibit in Philadelphia and later when we gathered around on Christmas Eve to watch the made-for-TV movie recreation of the story.  Despite the fact that we waited over an hour in line to see the exhibit, and the movie took some frightening liberties in depicting certain characters:

…becoming acquainted with the story opened my eyes to a number of Spiritual realities.

For those (like me) who don’t really know the story, here are the highlights (spoiler alert...but seriously, the book was written in 1843, so if no one has spoiled it for you by know, they need to):

A man named Ebenezer Scrooge hates Christmas.  He says “bah humbug” a lot (which I can only assume is the 1843 translation of “Ughhhhh >:-/”).  He lives only for his business and making money.  One night before Christmas, a ghost of Scrooge’s old business partner, Jacob Marley (who died seven years prior), visits Scrooge and warns him to change his selfish and greedy ways.  When he lived, Marley had the same negative attitude as Scrooge, and he warns Ebenezer that it has haunted him after death.  Scrooge is then visited by three spirits—the Ghost of Christmas Past who takes him back to his childhood, the Ghost of Christmas Present who shows him various people in his town who live humbly but have great joy, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come who shows him what the world will be like if Scrooge doesn’t change.  The visits with the ghosts are enough to convince Scrooge that there is more to life than his business, and in turn, he renews his attitude to be generous and enthusiastic about life.

Allusions to Scripture are all throughout the story:

“Darkness is cheap, and Scrooge liked it.” –A Christmas Carol

“But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” (John 11:10)

.....

“There are some upon this earth of yours,' returned the Spirit, 'who lay claim to know us, and who do their deeds of passion, pride, ill-will, hatred, envy, bigotry, and selfishness in our name; who are as strange to us and all our kith and kin, as if they had never lived. Remember that, and charge their doings on themselves, not us.” –ACC

“Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:22)

.....

“‘You fear the world too much,' she answered gently. 'All your other hopes have merged into the hope of being beyond the chance of its sordid reproach. I have seen your nobler aspirations fall off, one by one, until the master passion, Gain, engrosses you.’” –ACC

"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." (Matthew 6:24)

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“‘Come in!’ exclaimed the Ghost. ‘Come in! and know me better, man!”… ‘I am the Ghost of Christmas Present,’ said the Spirit. ‘Look upon me!’…‘Touch my robe!’” –ACC

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28)

“When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, ‘If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.’” (Mark 5:27-28)

.....

This year, Christmas has come and gone.  But the call to “come and know” Jesus is a daily one.  Each day I should try to know Him better than yesterday.  I should, by His grace, be more righteous than the day before.  There is hope in Christ to be the person I was made to be.

Scrooge had the life-altering chance to see what his life would be like if he continued in darkness; Jesus came so that we would not even have to dream of darkness.  Let us continue, each day, in the light as He is in the light.

“God bless us, every one!” –Ebenezer Scrooge

A Christmas Experience

Well…it’s been awhile!  I have, ashamedly, been off my blogging grind.  I wish I could say I have been taking this time to “lean in” to personal revelation and privately “unpack” some of the deep longings of my heart.

Truthfully…I’ve just been working.  A lot.  And here I am, in my cubicle, with a virtual and literal inbox (yes, people still have those) that can just never seem to stay empty.  But it’s 4:01pm the Friday before Christmas, the first snow of the season is falling outside, and my Spirit is telling me it’s time to step back.  (Honestly, I’ve been ignoring those words from the Spirit lately.)

Last night my best friends (@mkzekert, @tomlebo, @petehutchison) drove across the state to spend a few days with me in Pittsburgh and bring me back home for the long holiday weekend.  Simply being together is always enough to put our souls in peaceful places, but this weekend we are especially looking forward to:

A PITTSBURGH CHRISTMAS EXPERIENCE.

We have been referring to ourselves as “elves” ever since this trip was planned.  We packed silly Christmas sweaters.  Tonight we’ll go ice skating and tour the International Santa exhibit before walking around downtown to see the lights and the life-size nativity scene—in the snow.  Last night we stood at the top of Mount Washington and counted how many Christmas trees we could see in the city.  We took pictures with the (creepy) life-size Santa and Mrs. Claus in the grocery store.  I even got eggnog and peppermint stick frozen yogurt just because it seemed like…the Christmas experience.

I love these things.  I love friends who do them with me.  I think gradually over the last two years since graduating college, I’ve let my life become less fun—I need Christmas experiences to reclaim that fun.

But as trite as it is, at now 4:14pm on the Friday before Christmas, I am reminded that none of these things are the true Christmas experience.  I think we all know that Christmas isn’t about gifts or holiday parties or cookie trays (except when you work in the food distribution industry).  But we do let ourselves believe that it’s about family, that feeling you get when sitting next to a warm fire with snow falling outside, and being together with the people you love.

Really, it’s about none of those things either.

The Christmas experience is humility: Sovereign God coming to us—the people who rejected Him.  And our choice to lay everything at His feet, admitting that we need Him.

Last week as I was walking by the ice skating rink downtown, I heard the song “O Come All Ye Faithful” playing.  I stopped for a second to listen to the lyrics:

O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!

Couples and families glided around the large Christmas tree, seemingly unaware of the most beautiful and powerful invitation that has ever been given—the invitation to adore the humble King who saved us.  The scene was so ironic…kind of like our Lord being born in a manger.

Thank you, God, for letting me know your Son, and may my inbox and Starbucks red Christmas cups never keep me from that experience.

Merry Christmas!

Romans 12

{In view} of God’s mercy…

Do not conform to the pattern of this world…

Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought

think of yourself with sober judgment…

Each member belongs to all the others…

If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy

if it is serving, then serve;

if it is teaching, then teach;

if it is to encourage, then give encouragement;

if it is giving, then give generously;

if it is to lead, do it diligently;

if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

LOVE must be SINCERE.

Hate what is evil; #cling to what is good.

Be devoted to one another

in love.

Honor one another                  above yourselves.

__Be joyful in hope__

____patient in affliction­­____

______faithful in prayer______

SHARE with the Lord’s people who are in need.

Practice hospitality…

bless and do not curse.

Rejoice with those who rejoice;

mourn with those who mourn.

LIVE in HARMONY with one another.

Do not be proud…

Do not be conceited.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil…

If it is possible, AS FAR AS IT DEPENDS ON YOU,

live

at peace

with everyone…

Do not be overcome by evil,

but overcome evil with good.

Flight

About a week ago my dad sent me this email.  I have never known my dad to be a writer--before now.  I am blessed that I continue learning from my dad, and I'm beyond honored to post his thoughts below:

Allison,

I am not nearly the blogger that you are nor can I articulate life experiences in to creative prose like you do regularly, but I had a very unique experience on my flight to San Diego last night that made me think of you and how you relate life experiences to what God is trying to tell you.

I had a 5:55pm flight to San Diego from Philadelphia for a “business trip” to visit our office, attend an industry meeting, and play a round of golf at the very prestigious Torre Pines golf club.  I was just slightly disappointed to find out that I was not upgraded to first class as I sometimes am, however, I was #2 on the standby-for-upgrade list should someone cancel.  That put me in a preferred seat/row of 5C.  As the plane was boarding I would study each arriving passenger to determine if they would be taking the center seat next to me.  Both the center and window seat remained unoccupied for an unusually long time.  As the departure time grew near, my thoughts shifted to “good – the middle seat will be open for this long trip making it much more comfortable”.  Just prior to closing the door of the plane, the gate agent accompanied a woman who looked to be perhaps in her 70’s on to the plane.  From first glance I would venture to guess that most people, including myself, pegged her as being homeless by the way she was dressed.  She was African American, very short with 2 wool ski caps on her head.  She wore a down parka, long embroidery type dress/skirts, white sox which were half way up the calf, printed sneakers, and she walked with a stick. Literally an old broom handle type stick.  What struck me about her, however, was that she was very clean and did not smell like a homeless person.  As the gate agent approached, he motioned to me that her seat was the window seat in my row.   He motioned to her to take her seat and said to me, “She does not speak any English”.  As I looked into her face I saw with more detail a woman who appeared to be in the category of a “mountain person”.  I recall from the trip Mom and I took to Morocco that there are people who live isolated in the mountains.  This is what I would have pictured.  The woman could have been on the cover of National Geographic or pictured in a world cultures book.  Her skin was leathery.  She only had a blank stare as if she could not even understand basic hand gestures or non-verbal communication.  What a contrast in worlds which came together on the same row of a plane.  Here I am, pecking away on my handheld electronic device that has me theoretically connected to the world and yet the person right next to me lives in the same world that I cannot connect to.  I cannot even begin to imagine the world that God created for her in comparison the world he created for me.  She was now placed into “my world” by traveling on this plane.   It made me also realize how scary a position this must be for her by not speaking the language – but even beyond that, the fact that she seemingly cannot even gesture to communicate.  With all of the regulations for flying, how is she going to possibly make this trip not knowing about seatbelts or turbulence or complementary beverages or USAIRWAYS Master Cards?……..Then there was a shift in this thinking as she reached over and took me by the hand.  She looked into my eyes.  There was a pause of maybe 4-5 seconds during which time we were both probably wondering in our own unspoken languages, “What is happening?”.  Then she uttered the most universal words known to mankind.  In a very low and very soft voice, while staring right at me with eyes that were from such a far away place….she said, “Pee pee”.  Well, there was no denying her predicament.  The problem was that, in my world, the captain had already ordered the door of the aircraft to be closed, which meant there was no movement allowed in the aircraft until we reached cruising altitude.  We were about to be on an active taxiway and the FAA has very strict rules about cabin movement in this mode of the flight.  How could I communicate this?  Knowing personally that flying with a full bladder is not pleasant, I motioned to the flight attendant that I needed some assistance.  I told her that the woman spoke no English but that it seemed clear to me that she needed to use the restroom.  The flight attendant was very understanding and agreed that the only humane thing to do was to break the rules of the FAA and allow her to proceed to the bathroom while we were on an active taxi-way.  Not only that – she agreed to let her through barrier that separates the first class from the rest of the world (not sure why they really need to do that since you can see right through the curtain).  However, the flight attendant allowed the woman to use the first class lavatory.  Well…what a further contrast in worlds colliding.  Just minutes before the door of the aircraft was closed, a very “normal” looking English speaking traveler was denied access to the first class lavatory and told to go to the rear of the aircraft to use the restroom. 

The flight attendant accompanied the woman to the lavatory and then returned her to her seat.  The attendant  put the seatbelt on for the woman and motioned that she needed to remain seated.  Again, I was wondering if the woman really understood. 

The flight was smooth in the beginning but encountered turbulence about one hour in to the flight.  We were both dozing in and out of sleep and the woman appeared to not be concerned, even though the pilot had to make several announcements about the “rough air” we were experiencing. 

As we made preparations for landing, the plane began to do the “normal” things a plane does when landing.  Noises were different, pitches and rolls were different, and pressure on your ears was different.  Again with no way to reassure or communicate, I had to rely on hand gestures to try and convey that everything is okay.  Just receiving a blank stare from these gestures again made me realize that the worlds we are from are so far apart, yet here we are, in the same place, at the same time.  When the wheels touched down there was once again an opportunity for a communication connection.  Although I have no proof of this statement, it seems that when someone is scared they usually have a similar response.  As the wheels hit the ground, the woman immediately took my arm in hers and grabbed to hold my hand.  I squeezed, as did she, and I clutched our hands with my other hand to hopefully communicate that everything would be okay.  I continued to hold her hand, rough and leathery yet firm, through the entire taxi process.  She did not let go.  Then, as the plane was entering its final turn to match up with the jetway, I motioned to her to open the window shade which had been closed the entire flight.  As she gazed out at the lights and technology she seemed relieved that we have made it.  She gradually released my hand, and we shared another stare. 

The passengers were deplaning, and she seemed content to remain in her seat. I waved goodbye knowing that this chance meeting of our lives would never happen again, but it was at that moment that I was again struck by God’s prompting for a learning moment.  The woman did not return my wave.  That gesture was not familiar to her, and she had no reaction but to stare.   I was about to continue on this journey I began which was now going to take me to high rise hotels, fancy restaurants, posh golf courses and people who knew my language.  Where would she go?  Who would she communicate with?  In what world did she live?  So much to ponder.

The flight attendant assured me that they were watching over her and would accompany her to continue her journey. 

This was a life changing impression for me.  More introspection required.

New

This morning I took a new route to work.  It was so life-giving! (on a Monday morning, sometimes it’s the little things…)

With each passing traffic light, I tried to decide why it felt so good to drive by new trees, new streets, and new Eat ‘N Parks.  The way I drove to work this morning is much more residential than what I typically drive, so I passed by a number of kids on their way to the bus stop or school.  No doubt, this was part of why I loved it—watching kids in their Hollister t-shirts lug their saxophones across the sidewalk (I couldn’t decide if I miss those days or not).

But, I remembered—this is why I really loved the new drive:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Newness is from Christ!  All joy that I experience in new things flows from that truth.  I am new.  Now.

Eat a new cereal today.  Try a new hairstyle.  Talk to a new colleague.  And “behold, He is making all things new” (Revelation 21:5).

Posers, Not Politics

I remember in elementary school one of the biggest insults you could give was to call someone a “poser”.

E.g. “William copied the teacher’s example from class…what a POSER!”

E.g. “I accidentally got the same shoes as Felicity…I feel like such a poser!”

We were soooo young.

The insult gets at an American principal—one that even elementary kids can articulate, apparently—no one wants to be seen as a copy-cat, a people-pleaser.  The goal is to be yourself, unique, original.

The Bible talks about avoiding people-pleasing, too, but not in the interest of not being called a “poser”—in the interest of pleasing God:

“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Galatians 1:10)

This is a capstone Sunday School memory verse.  Don’t worry about what people think.  Aim to please God.  Close in prayer.  Let’s go play on the playground.

So I was kind of startled last night when I read these words from Paul (the same guy who said the words above):

“Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God—even as I try to please everyone in every way.  For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.” (1 Corinthians 10:32-33)

Uh.  Is Paul flip-flopping (is that a political joke? (Is it from 2004?) (I know nothing about politics))?

Honestly, not sure (and still know nothing about politics).  But the verses in 1 Corinthians draw out a wonderful, counter-cultural point for me:

To the extent that we are not engaging in sin or disobedience to God, we should do whatever it takes satisfy people in the interest of them meeting Christ.  In seeking to rescue souls, we should “become all things to all people” (1 Corinthians 9:22).

Wear business suits with the people who wear business suits.  Drink wine with the people who drink wine.  Paint watercolors with the people who paint watercolors (do people still do that?).

If it allows for an opportunity to overflow the love of Jesus Christ on to someone—be a poser.  Felicity will thank you.

iFriends

I'm a bit of a second-mover on most technology. I usually wait and see the latest gadget my brother has, hold out about 6-12 months before getting it myself, and then rely completely on him to teach me how to use it. Also my grandparents usually have the newest technology before I do, and when we're together I ask my grandpa what cool apps he recommends.

Several months ago I finally made the plunge to smart-phone world. I remember the day that I walked out of the AT&T store with my iPhone, I was overwhelmed with thankfulness, and I asked the Lord to somehow use my iPhone for His glory. Kind of a weird thing, in hindsight, but I had such a sense in that moment that everything I have really is from Him and for Him, and I didn't want even a trendy possession of mine to be in vain.

Inevitably, I'm now one of those girls who can't go anywhere without taking a picture of what I'm doing and post it with an artsy filter to make it look 10x cooler than it actually is. But the other day I thought about that short prayer I said when walking out of the AT&T store, and I realized how faithful God has been in it. Among other things, the iPhone has allowed me to engage in God-glorifying, soul-strengthening, iron-sharpening community with my best friends despite the fact that each of us lives in a different state.

Thomas, Pete, MK, and I are in communication virtually (no pun intended) all day on a group text message. At any given moment my phone could look like this:

From New Jersey to Pennsylvania to Mississippi to Florida I get to engage joy and encouragement and Godly advice and love (and self-photos and clips of ourselves sleep talking (the offender will go unnamed)) with these people every day.  Last week I had to close out of our group message because I was laughing out loud so hard in the company lunch room reading the messages back and forth.

So thankful. #soproud. Long live CR South Class of 2007's "Most Inseparable Friends"

Love y'all!  (Also, I think we can all agree that we have aged like fine wine--gotten better with age.  Sorry, in advance, for what I am about to unearth below...)

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God." (1 John 4:7)

(P.S. This blog post brought to you by my iPhone Blogger app, naturally)

A Reason to Run

I just love when the Lord gently interjects His instruction so naturally in my life.

Recently I was running in the evening, during that prolonged moment when dusk is turning to dark.  Racing against the blackening sky and all of the boogie men that come out and eat me when I run at night, I urgently picked up my pace and felt myself run harder.  Again, this past weekend I was running to a local coffee shop.  I felt my stride strengthen as I moved expectantly towards morning espresso, good conversation, and sharing joy with a best friend—a few of my favorite things.

God’s lesson was so clear: it is easier and essential to run with purpose.  It makes me go faster.

Of course, as He made this truth tangible for me, I remembered that He has already spoken about such things in His word:

There is a “race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1).  And it is not a race run simply for the sake of the journey.  No, we “do not run aimlessly” or in vain (1 Corinthians 9:26), but we must run with a purpose.

Our motivation is not boogie men or coffee talk, our purpose is “to win the prize” to which God has called us (1 Corinthians 9:24).

Contrary to my common thinking that “the prize” is some elusive heavenly something that shines brightly in gold so that I can see it but never really know what it is, scripture is actually quite clear about “the prize” we are running towards (who knew?):

Holiness. (Hebrews 12:10)

Righteousness—not the kind that comes from me and things that I do but that depends only on faith. (Philippians 3:9) 

Knowing Christ and the power of His resurrection so that our souls—that feel dead on their own—can also be raised to life. (Philippians 3:10-11)

Being found in Christ. (Philippians 3:8)

Purpose makes us go places.  I need that.  I need a reason to run.  

When I remember that I have a clear goal for everything I do, I will run harder, better, faster, stronger (had to).  

“But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14)

Truth

Sometimes I make life so complicated. 

Here’s why: my adherence to Absolute Truth inclines me to apply this principal to each circumstance. 

I have realized lately that I am always trying to figure out what is right in a given situation.  What is the true thing to do?  What decision could I make here that would be wrong?  I could agonize over thoughts like this all day.

Surely, there are choices that are more beneficial than others.  Some level of wisdom or discernment may lead me to go here rather than there, or choose this over that.  But if I’m looking for an absolute truth in a scenario, I’m not likely to find it.

Here’s why: “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” (Isaiah 40:8)

The only thing that is really true is the word of God!—all else passes away.  And so when I’m faced with a situation where I don’t know what to do, my aim is not to seek and stand on the truth in that circumstance; my aim is to stand firmly on what I know to be true, and usually these truths have absolutely nothing to do with whatever I’m facing.  If God’s revealed Word does not have something specific to say about the situation I’m in, then I can stop looking for the truth that applies to that circumstance and should focus on what God has already said:

God so loved (and loves) us.

He sent His son.  To die.  For me.

And now He lives.  With me.

This truth is what allows me to navigate any situation, knowing that nothing I face will ever have any effect on what’s really true.

How much easier this makes things!  Each decision seems more effortless and incredibly less significant when I focus simply on the truth that stands alone.

I am hungry to know God’s word, the truth that is and sets me free.

Ya make me wanna SHOUT!

Yesterday my company hosted one of our semiannual food shows—a trade show that is the culmination of many months of work for me.

I could say so many things about the experience and that day.  Like how beyond blessed I am to have so many faithful brothers and sisters who were praying for me before and during the event!  Or how faithful the Lord was in keeping me calm and grounded.  Like how encouraging it was to have my mom there with me working diligently and serving me…and how everyone thought we were sisters and not mother and daughter.  I could write what I learned about the importance of thanking people and how valuable it is to give compliments.  Or about how sometimes you just have to go in for the hug and not the handshake.

I could talk about all of those mercies, but I want to testify about something else.

There is little exaggeration when I say that I have been working for the past 72 hours straight—in the office on the Sabbath and working from (before) sun up to (after) sun down the last two days, including one 4:15am wake-up call.  As I drove in to the office by myself at a more normal hour this morning, I realized something that I have been missing the last three days:

Shouting.

All out, veins popping out of the neck, red in the face, move ya body to the beat, I now have a sore throat shouting.  God has been faithful and close in my last three marathon work days, but in the midst of all of my business and busyness I have neglected my routine of just letting it #GO for the Lord (usually done in my truck with the volume “allllllll the waaay turnt up”—anyone?).

There is a time to be quiet and still.  To lay face down before the Lord and say nothing.  To let His Word speak gently to my spirit.  And some people meet God most tangibly in those places.  But I love that the Bible also confirms the need I have to shout:

I have to “sing and make music” to “AWAKE MY SOUL” (Psalm 57:7-8)!  I NEED to “sing aloud of Your steadfast love in the morning, for You have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress” (Psalm 59:16).  Sometimes I feel like there is nothing else my heart can do but “burst in to jubilant song” (Psalm 98:4).

The fun thing about freedom is that my soul can rise to any beat.  This morning I pumped my favorite gospel jams and chased it with some Beyonce “Countdown,” all the while “proclaiming from the roofs” (Matthew 10:27) the goodness of our King!

I remember my favorite part about serving in kids’ ministry was the worship, because of how my heart was filled with joy by getting to literally shout at the top of our lungs and “GO CRAZYYY!!!”…there was something really real about that.

Make time to shout.  Loudly.  And be filled, for HIS glory and purposes!

Copy Cats and Lady Gaga

I’ll never forget a few years I watched an interview with Lady Gaga on Oprah (missin’ you, Opes).  At the end of the interview, Oprah asked Gaga what her one piece of advice would be for anyone who is out there watching.  Gaga—who very clearly marches to the beat of her own drum (usually while wearing something edible as clothing)—paused and then replied, “BE YOURSELF.”  Oprah slowly rose to her feet, put her hands together in her signature splayed-fingers clap, and shook her head over and over again in that Oprah I’m-shaking-my-head-“no”-but-this-really-means-“YES!” kind of way.  The way Oprah reacted, you would have thought Gaga just stated the cure for cancer and simultaneously saved every whale on the planet with that one phrase.  It was hilarious because Lady Gaga had simply reiterated, in the most generic of ways, the concept our society preaches to us every day.  Everyone wants to be their own person: do things that no one has done, be in to things that no one else is, answer to no one.  Independence is our culture’s lifeblood.

I find that in my Christian life, I often subconsciously apply those same principals.  I long to have my own “Jesus things”—things that no one else is doing.  X does missions work in Africa.  Y wakes up at 5:00am every day to pray.  Z talks to every homeless person she passes.  A disciples middle schoolers.  B is reading the whole Bible in a year.  C only listens to worship music.

My wonderfully redeemed but deeply deceitful heart admires all of these things and then quietly rules them out for myself, because I want to do my own things for the Lord.

While speaking to the church at Thessalonica, Paul, Silas, and Timothy encouraged the people with this phrase:

“You became imitators of us and of the Lord…and so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.” (1 Thessalonians 1:6)

There is no need to reinvent the wheel for God (that would be kind of #awkward considering He invented the universe).  We don’t need to have our own thing to impress Him or others.

Sure, we should follow the Lord wherever we discern He is calling us.  But when God doesn’t exactly seem to be laying out the yellow brick road, find a Christian(s) whose life you admire, and do what they’re doing.  Seriously, observe what they do for Christ—even ask if you have to—and then imitate it.  Society will hate it, but our Lord will love it :)

“For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:3)