IT & Big Hair

Last day of March and so much is happening.

Let's start off with a humorous, yet completely true anecdote.
I believe I mentioned earlier that I was in need of a work study and was failing at finding one. I had numerous interviews for writing positions, but God closed the doors to those. At that point I had pretty much given up on getting a job during school, but I decided to throw in one last application for what I thought was the computer lab. Little did I know, I had applied for an IT Helpdesk position, which, if you know me, is pretty hilarious, since computer details are not my strong point. I mean, I can work Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, but that's about it.
So, IT has me come in to take a test determining how much basic IT knowledge I have. I got a 40. Out of 100. It was a fail (literally). Just when I thought that was the end of it, I receive a phone call the next day asking me to come in for an interview. I would define this interview to be a complete humiliation, and seemingly a waste of time. Now I was sure this was all over. Nope. Over spring break I got a phone call telling me that I was being offered a work study position at IT Helpdesk. Yes. Yes, indeed.
The moral of this story? I, by no means, can take any sort of credit for this job. It was COMPLETELY of God. I am not just saying that- I legitimately did not deserve this job in any way, shape or form. God just simply PROVIDES. He is so good!

With that said, I have this new job, and so far I really love it! Thankfully, I do not work on the computers- I simply assist customers (aka be friendly and pretend like I know how to fix their problems until I get someone else to fix their problems). My coworkers are hilarious! I feel like I'm in an IT version of The Office (I hope you have seen that show, because it is hilarious.. well it was when Steve Carrell was in it, anyway). However, no matter how much I'm enjoying (and thankful for) this new job, it has added quite the dent to my schedule, leaving me with no free time. That, on top of all the SLD training, interviewing people for prayer leaders, meetings, class and homework.
But hey, don't you worry. Amongst the busy-ness, I have made time for some fun times.

Last night, I got to do something I never imagined doing and being a part of. I sang in a choir for my school's biggest talent show night of the semester in front of 8,000+ people. It was 80s themed and one of the most crazy, fun experiences I have ever had! When the video gets posted, I will be sure to pass that on so you can laugh at us in our neon colors, jean jackets and big hair.

Now to take on these last five weeks of school.

Dear Jesus,
Please get me through and keep me sane =).
Love,
Your Daughter

Conviction into Action

So, God has been convicting me, and I need some hardcore accountability.
People reading this- this means you. (please?)

Over and over again, I have been hearing about, reading about and learning about God's holiness. Everywhere I turn: the holiness of God and our responsibility as believers to be holy.
Honestly, I'm ashamed to admit it, but I definitely hadn't thought about this specific topic in a while, probably meaning I have been far too complacent in this little comfort zone of my life.

It all started on Sunday (I feel like that should be a commonly used phrase) when my dad preached a sermon at church which he called, "A Call to Action: Be ye holy, for I am holy." He addressed the three points in which we must evaluate regarding holiness:
Body (physical holiness), Soul (what we allow into our minds to influence us) and Spirit (corrupting the Word of God by allowing ourselves to be influenced by the world).
The two references my dad focused on were:

1 Peter 1:13-16
¹³ Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; ¹⁴ as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; ¹⁵ but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶ because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

1 Corinthians 10:11-15
¹¹ Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
¹² Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. ¹³ No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
¹⁴ Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. ¹⁵ I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say.

 My dad said something that really stuck out to me.

"Believers should be vigilant to protect themselves and their testimony."

Am I protecting my mind, my body, my soul, my spirit and every aspect of me from images, thoughts, actions or people that are not honoring to God?
One thing my dad always emphasized to our family throughout my life is that

"Compromise leads to CORRUPTION."

What have I been compromising with regarding holiness that is corrupting my walk with God and my testimony to the world?

Honestly, this is really humbling and difficult to admit (especially on my public blog), but I know it needs to be admitted, addressed, and then acted upon.
Even as a Christian, I often watch movies, read books, listen to music or whatever it may be, overlooking or not even noticing sexual references, innuendos, or even sexual scenes.
I even have been less affected by foul language than I have been in the past.
I watch things that instill fear within my heart, collapsing my trust in God- the One who gives us a reason to never be afraid.
I have allowed  people, relationships and feelings to become an IDOL in my life.

This is NOT to say that all non-Christian movies, music, books and media are bad and not allowed for the Christian. I do not believe that at all.
However, when I allow impure aspects of it to fill my mind,
I am hindering my walk with God,
removing edification from my life and  
making myself more vulnerable to sin in my life.

So, this is me, announcing to whoever is reading this, that
I make a commitment 
to be more aware of what I am filling my mind with and
to FIGHT to remove anything unwholesome from my life
to grow closer to God and
to maintain a firm Christian testimony.
DISCLAIMER: I will fail.
I recognize that I cannot do it in my own strength and  
must rely on the strength of the Holy Spirit.
It will be a BATTLE.
I will fall at times and it will take a long time to remove some habits from my life,
but I will FIGHT to walk in the holiness of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Your prayers are appreciated.

This is also a challenge for you. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, EVALUATE YOURSELF.
Let's strive to bring honor and GLORY to God.

Life and Lessons from 1 Samuel

I haven't posted in quite awhile, mostly because I have so much to write that I'm almost not even sure where to start. Every time I attempt to start a post, I just get overwhelmed and stop.
So this is me attempting again.

I'm currently home on spring break, which is absolutely glorious. It's always beautiful to be home and spend much needed time with my family. It's always good to be home.
The past two weeks have been so insane, every day bringing a new, original situation and circumstance. This year I have been a frequent gym-goer, but the past two weeks I literally spent every spare moment on assignments, studying for midterms and SLD (Spiritual Life Director) interviews.
After many SLD interviews, intense praying, extreme discouragement and many moments with God, God finally gave me an extreme peace and joy about one specific hall, the hall that will be my home next semester.

That whole process was definitely straining, begging God to make it clear on what hall and with what leadership team I will be most affective. Every hall I interviewed with was solid and the RAs were great, but at the end of the interview- no peace. It wasn't until my 5th interview that God brought on an intense peace and complete joy. I have no idea what is in store for the rest of the semester and for my junior year, but knowing God, there will be a lot of growing, learning and stretching involved. I absolutely am excited to see what God will do, and I just pray that I can be used for His glory in any way possible.

Some things I've been learning in my spiritual life?
Well, I have been reading through 1 Samuel, which has been incredible. God has been teaching me so much about what it means to be a true leader and servant and what He expects of us as believers in Him. I'm just going to hit on the two bigger lessons I've been learning, or else this would end up being a novel. So let's get going, since we're all here and this is obviously one of my lengthier blog posts.

1. I Samuel 8 --> Israel demands a King

"Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, "No, but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles." (vs 19-20)

Before I dive into what God has shown me through this section of the book, let me first give a quick background.
-God is the head of Israel, completely taking care of them.
-Israel keeps falling into idolatry, being unsatisfied with God. Instead of being the outstanding nation God called them to be, they wished to blend in with every other nation.
 Now that we know a little bit of the tone and the environment, we see Israel demanding of God that they have a king. Here are my first thoughts- "...why do you need a king? You already have a King and He is all-powerful and all-knowing." And then I realized something... I do this too.
So often I forget that I have THE King of Kings as my Lord and Savior, and I still end up looking towards humans to fulfill my needs. I seek human love, human approval and human presence, hoping that it will fill me up, when in reality, what I need has and always will be right here- Jesus Christ.
While human leadership can be useful and human love is natural, it fails.
Jesus Christ never misleads and his love never fails.  

2. I Samuel 15 --> Saul Spares King Agag; Saul Rejected as King

"So Samuel said, 'When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the LORD anoint you king over Israel?
Now the LORD sent you on a mission, and said, 'Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.'
Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the LORD?" (vs 17-19)
..*insert Saul's excuses*... (vs 20-21)
"So Samuel said, 'Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD?
Behold to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams."

At first, Saul served God with the position he was given. In I Samuel 11, Saul is brave, filled with the Spirit, intentional and does what is right. He did not make it about him; he knew it was about GOD (vs 13). Slowly, but surely, he allowed power to corrupt him, seeking self-praise and personal glory.
In this passage, God directly commanded Saul to WIPE OUT all of the Amalekites. All livestock. Everything.
Instead, Saul decides, "Oh hey. I think even though God said to do that.. I think I'm going to just.. keep stuff alive and take it home! FREE GOODIES!!"
So as I read this, I tried to figure out WHY. Here are some "maybes" I came up with:
A. Selfishness
B. He thinks he's smarter than God.
C. Doesn't care
D. Wants to be in control
Obviously, Saul wants to do things his way.
Saul's excuse? "I wanted to serve God. I was going to sacrifice it all to God."
Here's where the "teachable moment" happens in this story- It's all fine and dandy if we serve God, but we must do it GOD's way. God does not find favor in empty sacrifices that go against His will. He wants us to OBEY Him.
Service is great, but when it becomes an idol or an escape from doing what God REALLY wants us to do, it is sin.

I know that in my new position as SLD for next year, I MUST remember that OBEDIENCE is better than sacrifice. Service must be done God's way. On top of that, I cannot look to men to lead me and satisfy me, but only GOD is the true King of Kings in my life.