A year ago yesterday (August 10th), I started going to Fountain of Life. Upon the suggestion of a friend who could tell I wasn't happy with my current church (where I was raised and never intended on leaving), I went to FOLF and never looked back. It was an instant awareness that this was the right thing for me. As hard as it was to take a step in a direction opposite of what I had planned, it had to be done. It has seriously been the biggest blessing and such a sign of grace on my life. Why the Lord continues to rain down blessings on me, I will never understand. His love is unfathomable to me.
Our Pastors, Matt and Scott, standing outside of our church in Fountain Valley, CA.22 was definitely an amazing year and I look forward to what's in store for 23!
xoxoxoxo!!!
I remember when the mention of Life Together Groups (LTGs) occurred in our Friday night bible study. I was not a fan, mostly because I didn't go to the church where the rest of the ladies went. Basically, LTGs were going to be taking over our Friday night study. Well, long story short, I ended up joining an LTG and it was such an amazing experience. Being a newbie at the church, I signed up for one that had the most names I didn't recognize so that I could get to know people better (not typical for me). We just wrapped up our "trimester" and I'm so sad to know that our groups are going to be switched up in the fall, but excited to see what the Lord has in store!
(Seriously, how cute is this office?! I wish it always looked like this!)
(I *might* have made everyone wear pink, or it could be a coincidence. ;) I can't remember.)
I was reading Emily from Unfurling Flower's post about being single. She seriously stole the words from me. A year ago, I was the saddest single person ever. I thought surely life would be 100 times better if I was married. How the Lord has changed my perspective!
I'm not a big fan of recommending books to a large group of different people. Reading a book takes time and there's nothing worse then starting a book and waiting for it to be relevant or interesting to you. However, I have to recommend this one because I've honestly found it relevant and interesting in every stage of my life thus far. I read it when I was in high school and have referenced it MANY times since then. I recently pulled it off the shelf for a little refresher.
I really can't speak highly enough of this sermon on singleness by Paul Matthies. He nails so many important aspects of leading a God-glorifying life as an unmarried person.
Between a Mark Driscoll sermon on hypocrisy and my pastor's message yesterday, I feel inspired to write something about it.
I'm not a generally emotional person. When A Walk To Remember came out, everyone left the theater all swollen-eyed and bawling and I had no idea why. I guess I'm not a big crier, especially in movies that aren't even real. But tonight I cried...for a long time. Tonight I feel broken. I am not blogging about this because I want sympathy or to vent my frustrations, but because I think there's a lot of misconception about being a Christian.
Lately, I've seen (in my own life and in other's) the desire to place earthly things above heavenly things. It's so easy to get wrapped up in these earthly relationships that will fail us every time. Why is it so easy to want to cultivate a friendship or a relationship with a boyfriend/girlfriend, but require so much discipline to cultivate a relationship with the Father? I went through a phase where I had to seriously be strict on myself to spend time with the Lord. That's not the case anymore, by the grace of God, but I see others struggling and sometimes lack the words to encourage. So if you are reading this and you are discouraged and/or discontent with your relationship with God and your desire to study his word and spend time with him, I pray you will be awakened to your need and want for a close, personal relationship with your Savior. He loves you more than anyone on this earth can. Spending quality time with him is the only way to keep your feet firmly planted in what's right. It reminds me of the song lyrics: "On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand." Friends, be encouraged!
Let's take a look at what our "comfortable" old lives symbolize: selfishness, pride, an eternity of punishment and separation from the one true God who gave his life for us. Is that really a life worth hanging on to? Is that true comfort? Does hanging on to an old lifestyle really bring joy and satisfaction? Is being one person on Sundays and another person on Monday through Saturday really a fulfilling lifestyle?
In The Holiness of God, a book by R.C. Sproul, the point is made that before the death and resurrection of Christ, not even Christians had access to God. "The moment Jesus was slain, the instant the Just One died for the unjust, the veil in the temple was torn. The presence of God became accessible to us. For the Christian, the 'No Access' sign was removed from the gates of paradise. We may now walk freely on holy ground. We have access to His Grace, but even more, we have access to Him."Pray in all things!
(Mark Driscoll had an excellent sermon on prayer--click here to listen.)
The Lord has really been speaking to me in a multitude of different ways lately. It's funny the ways that he works to get our attention. Sometimes I feel like sermons, chapters of books, and blog posts are written just for me. There's a book that I'm reading with a friend, and we both swear that a chapter was added to address the last 6 months of my life, even though it was written a few years ago. Hey, it could happen. :)
As I've mentioned before, I have a hard time wrapping my mind around God's magnitude, holiness, love, grace, mercy, and so on. I feel like I'm not worthy, and I'm absolutely not. But the fact that I still experience all of God's goodness and that his mercy is poured out on me and his love is present in my life is a lot for me to take on sometimes. I struggle with the fact that I can't repay Christ for what he's done for me and what he continues to do for me. 
At the beginning of this year, I decided that the resolution I was going to work on the most for the year was to be more joyful. I can't really say whether or not I have or haven't, but I've been praying for it and prayer works.
On Saturday morning, a group from my church (and my AMAZING friend, Katelyn, who is always generous and willing to tag along with me) went to a soup kitchen about 10 minutes from our church to serve the surrounding people in need.
Sometimes it's really hard for me to wrap my mind around how big Christ is. His words could calm a treacherous storm. His hands could heal a blind woman. He walked on this Earth as a human, felt emotions, was tempted, was tortured, yet never sinned. 
Regardless of my personal feelings about President-elect Barack Obama taking office today, I am resting in God's sovereignty over the situation.
Also, though everyone has a different opinion about President Bush and his wife, Laura, I think it's important to be grateful for the past 8 years that he dedicated to our country. He took office during a very tumultuous time in America and despite differing opinions on how situations were handled, his reign as President was also part of a plan bigger than we can know. I pray for health, peace, happiness, and a huge sigh of relief for President and Mrs. George W. Bush. 
