Miller vs. Chambers

I read Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller a few weeks ago. I love the way Miller writes and the dialogue between him and friends is so honest. He describes his book as "nonreligious thoughts on Christian spirituality" to be exact. Since January 1, I've been reading My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers, which has been a great journey thus far, but the books are night-and-day different.

Chambers, an author from a completely different century, speaks of conviction and the necessity of living an abandoned life purely to glorify God. At times I feel a bit overwhelmed and occasionally burdened by my inadequacy in serving God. Nevertheless, it challenges me each day to seek God's will rather than my own, to listen to the Spirit of God, rather than the spirit of the world.

Miller speaks more simply of grace:

"...by accepting God's love, we fall in love with Him, and only then do we have the fuel we need to obey Him."

No self discipline can make me feel clean or righteous, only accepting God's unconditional love and grace will do that. God changes our character by wooing us with the passion of His love.
Miller speaks of God as more than a friend. He doesn't even compare God's love for us to that of Romeo and Juliet but to that of Luciento's pursuit of Bianca in Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew.

"...that is, the groom endearing the belligerent bride with kindness, patience, and love."

Like I said, their writing styles are so different, but the message is the same: Jesus took on the burden of our sin on the cross and that through his resurrection we have been redeemed. We are deeply love and can only accept this love by spending time in the Word, learning God's character and the power his sacrifice has over our lives. By accepting this love, we can be obedient to His will and proclaim His name over our lives as a witness to others.

Basically,
Love God.
Love People.
Why?
Because He first loved us.

Please Read!

This book is amazing. Please add Corrie Ten Boom's The Hiding Place to your list of books to read for the summer. It's a true story of woman who was sent to a German concentration camp during World War II for hiding Jews in her home in Holland. It is a beautiful story of God's light shining so bright in even the darkest of times. I finished reading it today and had to fight back tears on the bus ride home from campus. Amidst so much suffering, Corrie and her sister, who was also imprisoned, were so bold in their faith and found joy in the Lord, rather than in their circumstance. They truly lived each day by this verse: "Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances..." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.
Their hope was not in the war ending, or being free from the prison, but simply in the Word of God; their hiding place.

A Gentle Reminder

Monday was a bad day, but I learned a lot from it.
I registered for classes and didn't get into one I desperately needed.
I was so upset, I literally threw a silent fit in my room by jumping up and down, stomping my feet as a few tears rolled down my eyes. I've been trying to get into COMM 203 since freshman year, and now, "if I don't get in, I can't enter into the professional phase of my major next semester... and ultimately my life will be ruined." (or so my emotional mind was telling me.) For the next hour I sat in front of the computer hoping a seat would open up in any of the COMM classes and trying to figure out how I was going to fix this problem.

Fortunately I had to separate myself from the computer to go to an ASC meeting. As I slumped down the stairs of my apartment, I was greeted by nothing other than a rainbow. Instinct told me to whip out my camera and take a picture, though at that moment, my mood was too sour to appreciate its meaning. So with a closed mind and heart, I managed to sit through the ASC meeting, study for a test, and go to bed; frustrated with God and the fact that He promises He is faithful and makes me wait to see Him prove it.

I'm ashamed to admit how I felt Monday night, it's embarrassing.
For you see, Tuesday afternoon, I logged on to the A&M website, and sure enough, seats had opened up and I was able to get the class I needed. I had worried for nothing. I had doubted God and realized the state of my heart is still based on circumstance rather than on God's goodness.

The rainbow had been a reminder of God's faithfulness and love for me. I rolled my eyes at it. God made Noah wait for decades before the flood came, He made me wait less than 24 hours to get a class I needed.

I feel like Paul in Romans when he rambles about doing the very thing he doesn't want to do and not doing what he wants to do because of sin. I want to put my faith in the Lord, but find my sinful nature causing me to doubt. Life is full of learning experiences, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to grow from them. I am so thankful that our God forgives and His grace covers our disobedient hearts. Anyway, once again, God has proven how good He is and I thought I'd share.

Enjoy the rainbow.
-Jessie

Not a Photographer, but a "Picture-Taker"

So I love pictures.

I love admiring pictures taken by others.
I love taking them, and I love using my self timer.
I love the creative process of looking for different angles and lighting that make a picture pop.
I love editing pictures (though I don't have Photoshop.)
But I don't consider myself a photographer. Just someone who enjoys the stories behind pictures and the memories they capture.
I am a picture-taker, thank you very much!(Just brushing my teeth by candlelight. )

Thoughts on Faith

I have a reached another milestone in my life.

Tuesday I wrote on the last page of my prayer journal. This is the first time I've committed to keeping one and actually done so. My shelf has numerous prayer journals that were never completed thanks to my inability to remain consistent in writing in them throughout the years. And apparently I'm a bit of a perfectionist because I was totally opposed to opening my first journal and picking up where I left off, seeing as my handwriting or maturity level would be more advanced.
But this time I did it. My pen has been consistently scripting prayers, ideas, thoughts, etc... since December of 2008 and the last page of journal filled and it has been such a neat process going back through the journal and seeing how God has worked and is moving in my life.

An interesting, reoccurring theme throughout this journal has been the idea of faith. Numerous times I asked that God would allow me to be more faithful, that He would teach me to have eyes of faith, and that He would allow me to trust in His faithfulness.

The following are some thoughts on faith I wrote in my journal:

• Faith is rooted in God's Word
• Faith obeys, influences, and perseveres
• Faith is NOT based on our feelings
• God doesn't demand that we have blind faith but abandoned faith
• Faith hopes in who God is and in His eternal promise

The following are Bible verses on faith I penned as well:

"Who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord..."
Isaiah 50:10

"We live by faith, not by sight... we make it our goal to please the Lord."
2 Corinthians 5: 7, 9

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
Hebrews 11:1

But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,"and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

James 2:19-26

Hebrews chapter 11 is filled with people who were commended for what they did by faith. By faith, Noah built the ark. By faith Abraham obeyed and went. By faith he became a father and sacrificed his son to God. By faith, Moses and his people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land. By faith, Rahab protected the spies and was not killed. They lived by faith. It wasn't an idea, but an action. What a simple, yet vital thought in our Christian walk. So as I start afresh in my new journal with its crisp, clean pages, I hope to succesfully fill in this blank:

By faith, Jessie ______________.

Welcome Home Friend!

About a month ago, the motherboard of my laptop died and I had to send it in to the manufacturer. Thankfully, my aunt purchased an extended warranty when she bought me the computer as a graduation present (another blessing in itself) and I didn't have to pay a single cent for the repairs.

However, I didn't realize how much I used and coveted my laptop til I didn't have it at my disposal. I'm not proud of how much I rely on this thing, but seriously technology is so important in society today. I was literally going to a computer lab on campus every other night and stopping by these labs whenever I was on campus for class or for an ASC meeting. The week before Retreat was crazy without it, I had to write research paper almost completely on campus, I had to let go of my pride and ask friends if I could borrow their computers. What an inconvenience the past month has been!

My dad made a special trip to College Station today just to bring me my precious laptop and I felt like a kid at Christmas or someone who'd just been reunited with a long lost friend! I'm so thankful nothing from the hard drive was compromised. When I plugged my HP in and hit the power button I shouted with excitement as everything ran smoothly and all of the files were just as I had left them.

Welcome home friend, it's so good to have you back in my lap :)

Purpose Statement

In my ASC Bible Study group, we've been studying the book, Calm My Anxious Heart. It's a really awesome book for women on finding contentment in God. Anyway, this week it asked us to write out on paper our life purpose statement. At first I thought it was a little cheesy, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized how useful it would be from an accountability point of view to have one. So I got a little creative with it.

I should preface this by saying that whenever I'm struggling in my relationship with the Lord, whether because of apathy or impatience in His timing, worship through music always fixes my eyes back on God and who He is.


My purpose is

"to be an instrument of the Living God,
my life a melody to His name.
So I will testify,
giving all my life,
I'll live to glorify my King."
~Sarah Reeves

and

"to be like a musician who gives no thought to the audience approval, if I can only catch a look of approval from my Conductor."
~Oswald Chambers

God is the Master Composer and Conductor of my life. He delights in carefully arranging each note, so that I may be a sweet song to His name. My sole purpose is to have eyes of faith, focused on God so that each note may be played to its fullest measure, for His praise and honor alone. Thus I leave this verse,

"Cheerfully pleasing God is the main thing, and that's what we aim to do, regardless of our conditions." 2 Corinthians 2:5 (The Message)