Thankful Monday

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom their is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17 

It is so easy to get caught up in wanting, wishing, hoping for things, that we forget to be thankful for what we already have. In the midst of wanting some things I can't have right now, God shows me (yet again!) how much I already possess.

I am thankful for

a really great and icy Diet Coke on a tired, hot afternoon

my mother's cooking, after a few weeks of fast food and camp meals

and a big, soft bed that I don't have to share, in my own room, under a solid roof

I am thankful for 

that little moment of quiet under a bridge when driving through a storm

a running car that is dependable, that has great air conditioning

and the plastic that covers the light bulbs, separating me and the two wasps on the other side

I am thankful for

the ability to run, and a safe neighborhood to do so

the place I work, the co-workers I have that are mentors and encouragers in faith and in life

and the fact that I am not really in control of anything

I am thankful for

a big dinner table that we all sit around

the moments when my 10 year old nephew needs my help, reminding me that he isn't growing up as fast as it seems

and really great friendships that time doesn't stand a chance against

I am thankful for

Good, clean drinking water at my disposal

the book section in Goodwill

and the way the Bible is completely relevant in every situation

I am thankful for

Old acquaintances that have become good friends

New people in my life 

And lessons learned from ones that are no longer are a part

I am thankful for

how different people are

Needtobreathe music

and really great love stories that end exactly how I want them to

I am thankful for

Iced coffee when it's too hot for regular

the people I get to talk to on the phone at work each day

and the clouds, which have become a new fascination and reminder of God's unlimited resources

I am thankful for

my college

my education

and that I only have 14 hours left.

I am thankful for 

Sonic Happy Hour

Half price appetizers

and Aldi grocery stores, which seem to understand my budget.

I am thankful for 

the Sun, which brings a new day each morning

sleep, which is the ultimate clean slate,

and those days I get to lie in bed and catch up on my favorite shows.

I am thankful for

the good

the bad

and the beautiful, which seem to all be interlinked. 

Faithful in the small things.

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

 Philippians 4:19 

There are a lot of things I love about Camp Electric. 

Of all the concerts, the jam sessions, and awesome instructors, my favorite thing about Camp Electric is that so many students come just for the music.

There’s not a camp out there like CE, so while a majority of our students are from Christian homes and already know of Jesus, a lot of our students don’t care about Jesus- they are just here for the music experience. Isn’t God great?!

What these non-believing students don’t understand is that God has given them the talent they possess. He’s given them a passion for music, and HE has brought them to Camp Electric. They are here for the music, but God has a much, much greater agenda. Here’s what I mean:

Yesterday, one of my awesome chaperones asked me to pray for a girl in her group. The chaperone (whom I’ll call chaperone) said,

            “I have a girl in my group. She doesn’t know Jesus. Her father is an atheist and her mother is an alcoholic, and she is lost, but this morning, in devotion, she asked our group to pray for her. She said she doesn’t know Jesus, but she wants to know him. I wanted to jump up and down, but I prayed with her instead.”

I told her that’s the point of Camp. I told her I’d pray for the girl, for her, for all the students here, and then we did just that. We prayed.

Not long after my chaperone meeting, a girl comes into the office. She was devastated because the strap had broken off her electric guitar. The guitar fell on the ground and broke. It was her Dad’s guitar. He was going to be so mad at her. We tried to calm her down, telling her it was something that could be fixed and at not too high a cost.  She left our office, not in tears, but certainly worried.

* * * *

For our nightly concert last night, TobyMac and the Diverse City band performed. (They are AWESOME, by the way). So in the middle of the concert, everything stops, and the lead guitarist gets on the mic. He says,

             “Today, I was walking to lunch and I hear someone scream my name. It was this girl who had broken her guitar in class that day. She was freaking out, didn’t know what to do. So here’s what we’re going to do…”

He called the girl on stage, the same girl who had been in my office that afternoon, and handed her the guitar he was playing. Just like that. It was a beautiful light blue electric guitar. He gave it to her. He gave this girl his guitar. The look on her face was priceless.

At that point, Chaperone runs over to me.

            “That’s the girl! That’s the girl in my group!”

            “Ah, that is so cool,” I say.“What a lucky girl!”

Chaperone says, “No, Jessica, that’s the girl that wants to know God. That’s the girl that wasn’t sure about him, that wants to know more about him. This afternoon she came to me and told me she had broken her guitar. She asked me what we could do about it. I told her we were going to pray that God would show her His faithfulness and bring her a new guitar. HE DID!!!”

This is the girl who we prayed for earlier that afternoon; the girl with the atheist dad, the alcoholic mom; the girl who wanted to know more about Jesus. She was afraid, unsure, and God proved his faithfulness to her. He showed her that He cares for her, that He loves her. That she belongs to Him. He showed her that even in her doubt, He is sure.

She gained a lot more than a new guitar at camp. God is good.

My thoughts on a broken world.

Please never forget the graciousness of our Lord . Never forget His mercy , and the love He has for His children .

Please never forget that God is called our Father for a reason . He wants us to come to him as the children do for a reason. God wants our honesty, He wants our hopes , our dreams , our deepest desires . He wants to know what we yearn for , what we long to possess , and He wants to be the center of all of those things . Please never forget that God loves you,  but even more than that, God likes you . He wants you to be happy, to be prosperous, to grow strong in Him, bold in the faith, and He wants you to be untouched by this world .

Please never forget that, just like our earthly fathers, God sometimes tells us no .  He sometimes disciplines us , corrects us , and sometimes He even tests our knowledge and our strength .  Sometimes God allows us to go through things because He wants us to be prepared, to be ready, to be courageous .  He wants us to understand the weight of our calling as a Christian ,  he wants us to understand the freedom we have in Him .

Please never forget that God is perfect , and part of His perfection is free will- allowing us to choose whether or not we want to love Him ,  serve Him , be His .  He leaves this choice to us because our God is not forceful .  He will fight for us, but after time and time again of our constant rebellion ,  God will give us over to our desires . This is where evil comes in .  Please never forget that God is perfect, and in his perfection, he allows us to choose for ourselves .  For this reason , man often makes the wrong choice, and bad things happen . For this reason ,  evil sweeps the world -  our own selfishness ,  our own hurt ,  or own pride cause our own destruction .  God does not cause bad things to happen ,  but he allows us to make decisions ,  and unfortunately ,  human are sinful by nature .  Please never forget God is good and perfect and anything not good and perfect is from this world and sin, not from God.

Please never forget that God does not need us .  His plan will prevail, His will is carried out with or without us .  The devil though, he needs us .  Satan’s plans cannot be carried out unless we decide to allow him to use us .  Please remember taking up your cross is a DAILY sacrifice, discipline, a choice NOT to follow the world , NOT to be used by Satan.

Please never forget that God uses ALL things- big or small .  His voice is often quiet, and we do not find things we are not looking for.  Please remember that prayer is the most important and the strongest weapon we have .  Please remember that God hears our prayers ,  our cries . He’s strong enough for us.  He’s waiting for us.

Please never forget that God does not care about your past. He just wants to be your future . Please never doubt that God will take care of you .  

Please never forget that He promised to NEVER leave OR forsake you, and God ALWAYS makes good on his promises. 

Today is the day.

Today is the day...
I will drink my whole venti coffee... because I woke up at 8 on a Saturday.
I will open my book and put thought and care into every single word, careful not to miss the small details.
I will go to a wedding and appreciate the sweetness of their moment without wishing it was my moment.

Today is the day...
I will run 3.5 miles instead of just 3.
I will spend time with my friends, not distracted by my cell phone or gossip or worried about tomorrow.
I will do what I want to do... because that's what Saturdays are for.

Today is the day...
I will clean up my car... and my room.
I will find more to do than shop or spend money.
I will invest in someone other than myself.

Today is the day...
I will practice what I preach.
I will pray a little more
I will worry a little less.

Today is the day I will enjoy until tomorrow.

What do you have planned for today?

What I love about the sun

What I love about the sun is its ability to shine. I love the way it shows no mercy in sharing its warmth. I love that the sun shines regardless of the mood I'm in; that I can't hide the light even if I shade my eyes or close them or turn away.

What I love about the sun is how, even when the clouds are out, it's still shining behind them. I love how the sun is always there, even though sometimes we can't see past the darkness. I love that it rises each morning and sets each evening, and you can depend on it.

I love that the sun knows when we've had enough. It knows when to step back; when a day has been too long and too hard. I love that, even though it hurts sometimes, it is always helping me giving me nutrients I need, warmth, a clear vision, the ability to see as far as my eyes will let me.

I love that the world works to the rhythm of the sun. I love how the sun is so magnificent, we can only get so close to it. I love that even from so far away, the sun always feel close; always has a hand on my shoulder.

I love that every time the sun rises, it brings a new day with it. I love that it signifies a fresh, clean slate, and that when the sun is shining, even bad things aren't unbearable.

What I love about the sun is how our Creator crafted it just so- giving it a purpose and a duty. I love that He knew how much we would depend on it.

What I love about about the sun is that even it was created with a calling to reflect the magnificence of our God and it does so faithfully.

What's in a name?

I have to admit, I am not good at titles. I put so much into the actual writing, so much into the words and the structure and the technical and contextual elements, that by the time I get to the title, I'm over it... or late for my next class... or bed time.

I don't like having to name things. Giving something a name makes it seem so... final. It's like, if you name something, that's what it is. Forever. Always. I will always be Jessica because that is what my parents named me. I like my name, but it's just so... permanent.

To give something a title, to use hundreds of words and letters and then end it with three little words that may or may not relate- how can you do that? How can I write an entire piece of work to settle on a three word title? Doesn't that seem a little strange?

People say, "Well what is your work about?" And I give them an answer, but the title can't be "It's about a house that I grew up in that had this really great swing set with monkey bars and a  rope....," so how do you choose? How do you choose a couple measly words to sum up your whole story?

Is it like life? Do you just write and write and write, and pick a word, whether it relates or not? I mean, my parents named me Jessica, but they didn't know whether I'd be a Jessica or Sarah, or Katie.... they just picked what they liked and I am me, and luckily, I like it and it fits me.

Wait, maybe that's how it is. Maybe "Jessica"fits me because that's what I've always been. My dog is a "Tabor" because she's never been called anything else, and this blog is about "Words" because that's what I called it. Is this blog even about words? I am so bad at titles.

My question is, are we defined by our titles? Are confined by them? Are we limited to what people say we are, what they call us? I don't think so... I think we are so much more than a title, just like a story is so much more than it's title, just like there is more to us than our names. Don't let people title you. Don't be defined by what someone else chooses to call you. More than likely, they don't know what you're about anyway.

Fine Line God?

I thought senior year of college would be a time of celebration and easy classes. Wrong! College, senior year, is a time to freakout over deadlines, missing credits, grad school applications, job interviews, GRE tests, blah, blah, blah, the list goes on. If I wrote out a to- do list (for all of you who know I am a compulsive list maker), it would literally take a whole sheet of paper. Even more than that, it seems like every single decision, every move, every answer, question, everything carries so much weight. I feel like, at this point in my life, every decision I make is going to affect my future. In a way, it is very exciting, but mostly, it's extremely overwhelming. So, here is what someone very wise told me:

God's will for our life is not a fine line that we have to stay on. It's not a tight rope, that, if we fall off, that's it- we're done. God's will doesn't work like that! Thank the Lord (literally) because I have awful balance.

In a figurative way, God's will for our life is like a football field, or a basketball court- something with boundaries. We can go anywhere we want within those boundaries and still be in God's will for our life. Isn't that beautiful?

If you are like me- if you feel like every decision you have in front of you is a high-stakes decision. Think again! God didn't set a will for our lives to confine us. He set a will for our lives to show us how free we are in Him. He sets the boundaries, but we are free to move. We're free to seek and find and look and search. We have to pray that those boundaries would be clear to us, and we have to discern between our own boundaries and the ones God has set for us, but He gave us a brain and hands and feet because He wants us to use them- to seek for ourselves His will for us.

So next time that decision lingers in front of you and you are panicked to make the right choice, ask God to help you. Ask Him to show you the boundaries of His will, and He will do just that. If this is our prayer, there should be no fear and anxiousness about the future- only excitement about reaching our full potential in Christ.

So rejoice, God has set forth a plan for us. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future..." Your decision will not cause you to fall of the tight rope of God's will. It will force you to move within the boundaries of the freedom He's given us. How amazing is that? Be confident in prayer, and be confident in your decisions.

It doesn't seem so high-stakes when I look at it this way. God is good... and funny. :)