Morning Revelation

Whew. I never ever post here anymore. But this particular post doesn't fit on my other site (if you haven't checked it out---do so!)

Anyway, here's what I woke up thinking about today. Enjoy!

I try to be as honest as possible when I write, because honestly, I don’t think I’m fooling anyone when I try to make things less or more than they actually are. And if anything, I crave authenticity from others, so I do my best to offer the same in return.

That being said, today we’re going to talk about my biggest struggle.

I’m single, and I don’t like it.

There. I said it! And I wish more young women would be honest with themselves and admit to it! Young women, if this rings true for you, then say it. I’m begging you. Because it’s been my experience that when you’re feeling something and you try to hide it, or ignore it, or wish it away, it grows.

It’s o.k. to not like being single.

And I’ll tell you why.

I’m going to go all Old Testament on you for a second. When God created Adam, He explicitly said that it was not good for man to be alone. In other words, man & woman were, from the literal beginning of time, supposed to be together.

My point here isn’t to say that everyone is supposed to get married. I truly believe that there are some people in this world that are meant to live a single life. That’s wonderful. God gets to use those people in a very unique and special way.

But I’m here to say that if you desire a spouse, if you desire marriage—if you’re currently single and you have that longing, then I truly and deeply do not believe that you’ve been called to the life of celibacy.

So here’s what I’m trying to say through that jumble of words. If God designed us to be in a relationship, and God has given you a yearning for that relationship, and you’re not currently in that relationship, then it’s o.k. to feel like something is missing, and subsequently not like it.

It’s okay to not like being single. Because it isn’t what you’re intended to be.

Now let me switch focus for a second and pump the brakes. Because I know for a fact some of you are disagreeing with me.

Let me be clear that there is a difference between desiring something you don’t yet have, and sinning over something you don’t yet have.

Let me try to explain further.

Warning: this is going to be ridiculously cheesy and probably isn’t going to make total sense. But bear with me.

Let’s say that I wake up and decide that I want a cake. I’ve seen other people with cake and they seem to really enjoy it. Cake alone doesn’t sustain their lives, but it makes their lives better. And I decide, “You know what? I’m fine without cake; I can live without it. But cake seems really great and I would like some cake”.

So I go to the local bakery and I ask for a cake. And the baker says, “Cake is awesome and you’re going to get some, but just not right now. I want to make this cake perfect for you so it’s going to take some time. I can’t tell you when, but it’ll be delivered sometime.”

Okay that’s a little annoying, right? I want my cake now, obviously. But the baker knows about cakes. And if the baker wants to make a cake perfect for me, then I can’t fault him for that.

I don’t have to like it though. I’ve never read a verse in the Bible that says I have to like all the circumstances I’m in.

I mean let’s think about.

Do you think Abraham liked that hike up the mountain on his way to sacrifice his son? Do you think Esther liked being plucked from her home and thrown into a concubine? We know for a fact that Jonah didn’t like his deal. And let’s be honest for a moment. Do you really honestly think Jesus liked being nailed on a cross?

I personally don’t think so.

Sometimes God puts us into situations and we don’t like it.

And here’s a big revelation: that’s not a sin.

The sin comes when we are disobedient to what God has commanded us.

The sin is when I don’t get my cake and I pout about it. And I talk about how unfair the baker is. And I get jealous of all the other people with cake. And I just sit around and I don’t live my life because well if I don’t have any cake then I’m just going to sit here until I do because my life is worthless without it.

Any relationship other than your one with God does not complete you. It compliments you. It’s the sprinkles on top of the ice cream.

This is where the problem lies for many single Christians. Myself often included.

God has repeatedly said that in all circumstances we are to praise Him. Honor Him. Glorify Him.

I think it’s completely acceptable to have a prayer that’s full of, “I don’t understands”, as long as they’re followed with, “…but You are still God.”

Think about Christ’s prayer before His death. He begged God to take the cup from Him.

But how did He end His prayer?

“…But not my will, Yours.”

Wow.

Throughout Scripture we repeatedly see men and women who don’t like their circumstances but chose to serve a good God anyway. And every single time, God blesses them.

The point is that you don’t have to like being single. You’re allowed to say that.

I’m so tired of (albeit well-meaning) married women trying to encourage young single women to be happy in their singleness. I’m tired of this because it causes a lot of confusion. Women are told (I’ve been told) a lot of things when they’re single. They’re told to be happy, they’re told to be content in their singleness, they’re basically told that when they’re finally happy being single, God will give them a husband.

This is a lie! And this mindset sets your single friends up for failure.

Because like I said earlier, telling us to be happy while we’re single is like telling us to be happy with only three wheels on our car.

The truth is, being single isn’t ideal for a lot of women. But the even better truth is that yes, God has good things in store for you in all your situations.

If the Bible teaches us anything about circumstances, it’s that we shouldn’t focus on them.

Don’t look to God in hopes that He will be pointing to your man. Look to God because He is worth looking at.

The point is, you don’t have to like being single.

But you still have a billion and one reasons to praise God anyway.

God and I have been in a dry spell. Wait let me take that back, I have been in a dry spell. God is constantly faithful.
Truth be told, I've been rather mad at Him lately, for my shortcomings and my mistakes. And we haven't been getting along. Because I'm selfish and needy and whiney and I can't get myself together long enough to let the Father bless me.
So here's how He blesses me anyway, and hopefully this will bless someone else.

Anyway without going into extreme detail I've really been struggling with where I am in my life right now. As in, why I'm single.
Go ahead, roll your eyes, sigh. I can hear some of you saying, "For goodness sake, girl! You're only nineteen! You don't need to be in a relationship! They're not all they're cracked up to be!" Go ahead and tell me nothing is wrong with being single all you want- I agree with you, but it's not where I want to be.

My desire isn't to be single. And the society I live in tells me something is blatantly wrong with me if I am. Before all you mama and papa bears out there tell me different, I'll stop you there. Because I know there is nothing wrong with me. But often, I feel like there is. Most times, I think it's a defense mechanism to stop the hurt. Because if there was something wrong with me, at least I'd have a reason as to why I'm single. But because there isn't anything inherently wrong with me, I mean, I don't have a second face, or green moss growing on me or anything- I'm left confused as to what the deal is.

And so yesterday, God and I had it out in one of my signature drives where I just drive and drive and yell and cry and talk to God, much to the dismay and horror of other drivers, I'm sure.
And in this conversation, I said to God, "What gives?"
What's the deal, dude? Because I had been faithful to you. I had delighted in you, and I never got my way. And I don't understand how I want a Godly relationship and I can't have one. What. Gives?
To be honest, He didn't answer me. At least not how I wanted Him to. Because to be honest, if I put words in God's mouth He would have said, "Listen baby girl. When you get back to school in August, you're going to get everything you've wanted since the beginning of the year. And everything is going to be so wonderful, and you'll be so happy and life will be great!"
And then I would have had a vain reason to love God--because God did what I wanted Him to.
The reality of the conversation went more like this,
Listen here, girlfriend. You may not realize this right now but I'm doing you a favor, so deal with it. And guess what else? I love you too much to let you be in either the wrong relationship right now or jump the gun on the right one. So calm down, trust me, stay faithful and in my timing, I'll work it all out. Your day is coming sooner than you think.
To which I replied, meekly, ".....okay."
To which He replied,
Right now is our only time for it to be just you and Me. So embrace it.
To which I replied, meekly, ".....okay."....again.

A few minutes later, hunger sets in and I go to burger king to get a small fry. What should have only been a quick minute or so ended up being about ten in the drive through, which to be honest was fine with me. I had no where to be, and there was good music playing on the radio. I pull up to pay and the lady holds up her hand and hands me my fries.
"Don't worry about it," she says, "it's on us. You waited...a really looong time." She smiled and told me to have a good day, and I said the same.
Pulling away I'm pretty sure I felt God nudge my arm and say, "See?! Good things happen to those who wait." as He winked and then laughed. I laughed too and thought to myself, "if you say so."

Later that day I made the wise and healthy decision to have McD's for dinner, and again, I found myself waiting for my food, for about fifteen minutes. Which, when waiting at McD's, feels like a century and a half. Finally they come out and the worker says, "We're so sorry about your wait--we threw in a large fry"
I'm thinking, "yeah, right. Like I need more fries.", but it was free food nonetheless. Pulling away the second time, God said,
Did you notice how twice today you waited and were rewarded?
And I'm thinking,
really? You're speaking to me through food?
To which God said, it got your attention, didn't it?
Touche. Touche.
I walked away confident that God has a plan, one that truly has been designed to prosper me, to bring me joy, and give my life abundantly. And if I listen and follow His plan, I get to reap the benefits. He's good like that.

To make His blessing even sweeter, today I got a text from my dear friend how informed me of her budding romance with a young man who seems to be absolutely wonderful. And all I felt for her was absolute joy- devoid of jealousy or envy. I'm so excited for what God is doing in her life, and I absolutely love how He is using her and this young man to illustrate in my own life how He is faithful always.

I don't know when God is going to give me and that lucky mystery guy the go-ahead, but whenever it is, it's going to be His doing- which means it's gonna be good.

And so right now, I'm smiling about the mystery that's beyond the horizon.

Why You Probably Shouldn't See The Vow

This entire post is a spoiler. Reader beware!

I saw The Vow on Valentines Day with some girlfriends, and left the theater really glad I got a student discount. Needless to say, I was less than satisfied.
            First off, for me, a clear sign that a movie isn’t worth the time is if I’m checking my phone for the time. The movie began at roughly 9:10 and by 10 I was checking the time. It just kept dragging on. Mostly because there was nothing happening. I was told to go in with low expectations (another sign that the movie probably isn’t all that good), but apparently they weren’t low enough. Judging by the trailer, I assumed there was going to be more about how Leo (Channing Tatum) gets his amnesic wife Paige (Rachel McAdams) to fall in love with him again. Nope. In fact, he really only takes her on one date, where she seems to be falling back in love with him, however she’s not, because right after she goes back to her ex-fiance. What the heck is that?

            The kicker for me is that the movie is unrightfully called “The Vow”. I was expecting to see Tatum and McAdams to keep their vows. Nope. Close to the end of the film, they literally give up and get a divorce. As soon as I saw Leo (Tatum) sign the divorce papers, I thought, “Are you even kidding me right now.”

            This was it for me. You mean to tell me I spent almost two hours watching Tatum fight for his marriage to give up at the end? Is this even real life?

            Sadly, that is real life, for a lot of couples. The point is, The Vow is the absolute worst title the movie could have gotten. The theme I got from the movie was, try to stay together until you just can’t any more. Then at least you tried, right?

            Wrong.

            In the end, we see that they’ve been divorced for (at least) six months, and decide to go on another date. It’s assumed they get back together, but you don’t even see that. When the end credits began to roll, I was both relieved and frustrated.

            If you like to be disappointed and throw your money down the toilet, go ahead and see The Vow. 

Before you read this, read this article on Yahoo's newspage

I apologize, but this blog is going to be more rant than calm discussion, and I would understand if some people don't agree with what I have to say. But I hope that all of you will.

This type of hatred needs to end. What is it accomplishing? Nothing positive.

As Christians, we are to look to Christ for our example in our daily living. So let's do that.
Read John 4.
Then read it again.

Now put yourself in the time period of Jesus. This was a woman. This was a Samaritan woman. This was a promiscuous, Samaritan woman. I mean honestly, in the time period she could not have been worse.
Scripture tells us that Jews had no dealings with Samaritans, and if possible even less dealings with Samaritan women. Scripture also tells us that this woman had five husbands, and was living with a sixth man.

Did Jesus condemn this woman? Maybe you could argue that He was condemning her  in verses 16-18, but I think that is a misreading. She knew what she was doing was wrong in the deepest part of her heart. Jesus didn't need to tell her. Condemnation was not the point of this encounter.
Rather, Christ here demonstrates just how deep His love goes- by telling her the truth in the most loving and respectful way He could. 

Scripture makes it clear that God hates sin. Seriously hates it.

Jesus hated how this woman was living. But it did not affect how much He loved her. 

I wonder what would happen if we displayed Christ's compassion today to the people we don't agree with.

If you spend fifteen minutes with anyone who is not a follower of Christ, you are more likely than not going to find out the reason why they don't want to follow Christ is because they've somehow been scorned by the "church".

The world thinks we're hypocrites. The world thinks we're close-minded. The world thinks we're bigots. The world thinks we hate them. Why? Because this is the message "we" send when things like this incident with Ellen happen.

How can we expect anyone to want to know Christ if this is the Christ we show them?

It's okay to hate how someone is living. It's okay to hate the choices people make. But it is not okay to hate the individual.
If we as CHRISTIANS could love on the people we disagree with, instead of furthering their suspicions, this world could change.

Now I do not want for a moment to put words in Christ's mouth, however judging by His actions in John  4, it would seem that Christ doesn't want us to boycot, ignore or condemn those who aren't in His kingdom. Rather it would appear that we are called by example to reach out to those apart from the Kingdom, tell them the truth, and love them regardless.

My challenge (for myself) and hopefully all of us, is to intentionally reach out to someone we disagree with- love them unconditionally, and see what happens.

What defines my worth, part I.

We all have it. That one sin that somehow creeps into literally every situation imaginable, and you’re left with a choice to fall into temptation and indulge in that sin- or not to. Usually for me, it’s the former.

My go-to sin is my self-worth.

I don’t think it’s anyone’s fault that I struggle with my self worth. And I believe I have to make a conscious effort to sin in it. But I do believe that there have been factors in my life that have attributed to why I have such a hard time with myself.

I think it can be accredited a lot to my lack of a father figure. My dad left my household when I was a baby, and rarely saw him during the first sixteen years of my life. Sure, I saw him ‘every other weekend’, but not once did he show up to a choir concert, soccer game or school play. And although I regret wholeheartedly to say this, for my father’s sake, and for my own, I allowed myself to believe (contrary to what even my church had taught me), that my Heavenly father was the same way.

So I began to take a very lax approach to my relationship with God, because everything I had been shown by my example, my father pointed to a Father that might say that He loved me on the outside, but truly didn’t seem to matter so much.

And the line between truth and lies became blurrier and blurrier.

And I got to the point where I was allowing Satan to use my own voice.

It wasn’t deafening, it wasn’t ‘big’ for lack of a better term, but it was present. It was quiet, and it was lying to me.

And it’s something that God has had to deal with me lately, more than ever before.

When you attend Asbury (and you’re a female), really you’re two main jobs are to a) get married and b) go on a mission trip. That being said, I’ve obviously been thinking more and more about the day when I’ll get married- and to be completely honest, for a long time I convinced myself that that would be what cures me of my self-worth issues. That being married would fix me.

Marriage, (from what I’ve heard) is wonderful, don’t get me wrong. But what God has revealed to me is that my worth cannot be defined by anything except Christ.

Everything is secondary to Him. And if I ever plan on being able to give my entire heart to a man, then I must first allow Christ to hold and cherish it.

And I can tell you that letting Christ carry the burden of my heart was the best decision I could have made for myself.

I no longer beg to know where my worth is, because I know it is found in Christ.

God repeatedly reminds us of how worth it we are. And He’s proven to me some critical points about my worth. First off, David wrote,

For you formed my inward parts;

you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

My frame was not hidden from you,

When I was made in the secret place,

Intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed substance;

In your book were written, everyone one of them,

The days that were formed for me,

When as yet there was none of them.

Coming from an ‘artist’ (I use the term lightly), when I make something, I do not hang it up in a gallery unless it is the most beautiful piece I think I’ve ever made. It’s no different with God and His creation.

But God goes further than that. Paul tells the church in his letter to the Romans that

God demonstrates His love for us in that while we were still sinning, Christ died for us.

Now I can understand love when it’s the ‘for better’ half of the vow. But something is to be said about the love a man has for another who is willing to love them despite the fact that they clearly are not returning the gesture.

If that doesn’t make a person intrinsically have worth, then I don’t know what does.

The point is, that I am worth it. I am a daughter of the king, and I am blameless in His sight.

My beauty cannot fade.

My worth isn’t defined by anything I can do, have done, or could hope to do.

My worth comes from God’s innate desire to have me in His presence.