Passing Grade

With it being the end of a university semester, the majority of students have their minds focused on two main things; their marks and summer! I was blessed with the oppertunity to return to church for the first time in forever on Sunday, and of course, God was just waiting to reveal new things to me.
I like to say that I am a student that strives for excellence. Over the years I have worked to find a balance between excelling in school and excelling in friendships. But on Sunday, I was confronted with the fact that over the last 8 months, I have only been living life with a "passing grade." My spiritual life has consisted of doing what I saw as the bare minimum to achieve eternal life but I didn't realize that until yesterday. The thought that I haven't been striving to excel in my walk with God sickens me. After all, in Revelation 3:15-16, the Bible says "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth." I have become lukewarm this year and that isn't what I want. 
Luckily for me, I am subject to the Grace of God. I can never be separated from His love...

^"28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[a] have been called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ³⁰ And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
-Romans 8:28-39

In response to this, I want to live a life of excellence. Striving to be on fire in my relationship with God. For this reason...
" I will dare to live with purpose and passion. 
I will dare to live with excellence and commitment.
I will do the very best to be the best ME I can be.
I will ahve the courage to be one of the few!"
-Joyce Meyer 

Powerful with a Purpose

Here I am... 1:30 AM, unable to sleep... Back in September, I had a night just like this one. It was my first night away from home and I was afraid of what I had gotten myself into, moving to Saskatoon for university. Tonight, however, I am afraid of leaving all of this. My heart aches for all of the goodbyes that are sure to come in the following morning. But as I allow these tears to roll down my face, I take a moment to look back on the year. I look at where I am now and where I was in September. Flipping through my journal, I find one of the very first entries from here in Saskatoon...

"Who am I going to be? God, I have a choice. I live in a secular world now. How am I going to portray myself? More importantly, how will I portray you? I want to be a woman of God. A woman who shows the fruits of the spirit to everyone around her. I want to be the one who people see you in. But, I also feel the human need to be accepted and that is going to pull me onto the wide path. God, only you can transform. Only you can give the fruit of the spirit. Come and fill me God. I know that you have me here for a reason, you placed me at Sheps. So I need to trust that you will continue to open doors. To place people in my life with whom I can share your light. God, help me to be different, to stand up for what I know is right."(September 6, 2012)

I'm not perfect. I've screwed up this year, and I will be the first to admit that. I have no regrets though.This has been a year in which God uprooted me fully from every familiar thing and placed me in an alien setting. I have been a missionary, called to love those God has placed in my life. And let me tell you, I wouldn't trade it for the world. As I look back at that September 6th entry, I realize that God gave me everything I asked for. He delivered and I cannot complain in anyway about that. I have been so blessed, and as I leave this place for the next four months, I am sad but I know that God isn't done with me yet.

So here I am; Powerful with a Purpose. Lord, send me.

Laying it all at His Feet

It's that time of the semester... Finals seems to have creeped up on me and brought with it the different stresses and anxieties of life. I had an interesting conversation with one of my friends the other day about how God asks us to cast all of our anxieties and cares upon Him. Ok, I can do that right? I mean, who wouldn't want to give up all of their problems to someone who could handle them better than we can ourselves? Well, I was reminded in this conversation that God doesn't just want our problems. He wants us to give up those things we grasp so tightly to... Whether that be our family, our friends, our jobs, or anything that we have gained over the years. That includes our own dreams and hopes as well. Many people, me included, tend to hold these things so close to us because we are afraid that if we give them to God, He will take them away. I believe that this is not God's plan. If the thing we grasped so tightly wasn't good for us, then yes, He probably would take it away, putting us in a better position than we were before. But if this thing was good, I believe that He will take it and mold into something greater. After all, God can do so much more with something than we could ever even imagine ourselves doing! So, although it is a scary concept, giving up those situations and people that are so dear to my heart, I am making a point during this finals season and continuing into the future to place all of my cares, hopes, loves, and dreams at the feet of my Creator, with the intent of allowing him to make me and my life into something even greater than already is.