Perseverance.

I was pondering the list of books I've read this year, and came across this realization: I really like books about the the Holocaust, Hiroshima, Great Depression, etc. Don't be tempted to think I'm into super sad stories: I just really like books about people who persevere through tough times..REALLY tough times. It's hard for me to read trivial book sometimes about people overcoming 'trials' in life that just seem so...trivial. I can't really come up with a better word, but do you catch my drift? Anyway, if you have any suggestions of books on the above subjects, let me know!

just a thought

I was sitting at a stop light today when a man on a motorcycle approached my car. When he got close enough for me to see him in the rear view mirror, I noticed he was wearing a suit. Seriously! A nice bike, a nice suit. Very nice. That's exactly what I'm looking for in a guy: straight-laced, takes care of business, adventurous, likes to have fun! (I have no idea who this guy was but I judge him based on his demeanor, clothes and vehicle. Could be totally off base).

I love because He loved me.

I can plan and plan, and strategize and analyze, and think I'm on the right track when..
all of a sudden..
God just flicks me on the forehead and says pay attention here.

This video from Sara Groves is a perfect example of that, and I really hope you'll check it out. It's the background story behind her song Love is still a worthy cause.

Just because I can strategize and analyze doesn't mean those skills are always essential. Sometimes you just have to go with your gut, or listen for that still small voice, or do what makes sense at that exact moment.

MUHAHAHAHA

Amy left her blog page signed in on my computer so I'm hacking into her blog.

MUHAHAHAHA

That's all.

Alyssa

Quick Thoughts on Faith

I don't generally share stories on this blog. I like to post my random thoughts, what I'm learning from God, and the funny things I see in the world around me...

I don't share stories about people (very often) because I don't have cool, unique, home-run kind of stories that draw in and inspire. I don't even have many lighthearted stories that are purely for fun; and a majority of what I do share is second-hand information.

This hit me today- I'm a second-hand source. I don't really come up with any original thoughts. Those cool stories I see other people blogging about never happen to me. Why?

I don't really know exactly why. Maybe they do happen and I just miss them, or don't blog about them for some reason. But when I read great stories on other blogs, I think there's often a common link: faith.

I think I've minimalized the amount of faith it takes for me to live my daily life. I enjoy routine. I could eat the same thing for lunch every day, (especially if it was pizza). I'm a fairly predictable creature of habit. I don't think a routine is bad...but where does faith come in to play? I get so engrossed in my schedule that at times I miss out on opportunities around me.

Faith. What is it? How to define it? Being sure of what we hope for, certain of what we do not see, taking God at His Word, etc. Those definitions are great but they don't help me make my point. I'm talking more about a lack of faith here. What is faith not? Faith is not a feeling (great book). It's not a function or a formula- you can't nail it down or devise a perfect plan to execute it. One certainty of life is that each day, situations and opportunities will arise and you will have a chance to exercise your faith. How often do I complain about daily distractions, which just might be opportunities to glorify God in ways I haven't thought of yet?

Faith is a tricky thing sometimes.
It's tricky because I make it trickier than it actually is.

Seek or Chase?

Someone asked me this week, Should we seek God or chase Him? I immediately smiled. I love that question. Before you continue reading, come up with your own answer.


I think it's a good question. The verb "chase" can mean a variety of things. If it means...

pursue
Yes! We need to pursue God. He wants us to, and loves it when we do. I think this definition is very similar to seek (to go in search of).

follow rapidly in order to catch
Yes! The awesome thing is, we will always catch Him. All over the Bible are promises that those who seek God will find Him. We don't have to worry that our pursuit will never "catch" God; He is able to meet with us, willing to meet with us and available to meet with us.

to seek the favor or company of persistently
(as in, chased me until I agreed to a date. lol.)
Yes! (Clarification Needed). This is what every person's life should be: persistently seeking the favor and company of God. God loves and wants our pursuit. We find favor in God's eyes when we do His will- which is loving Him with all our heart, soul and mind. Here's the clarification: We should seek favor in God's eyes, but we must never question His love. We can do nothing to make God love us more. We can do nothing to make God love us any less.

In sum: God wants us to follow/seek/chase Him - with all that we have, every day - but we must never doubt that we can catch Him.

To those cheerful people...

...sometimes your thoughts/opinions are hard for people to hear. I love those moments when you come across a verse in the Bible that you didn't know ever existed but always hoped you'd find. Here's one, Proverbs 25:20, in a few different versions:

"Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar poured on soda, is one who sings songs to a heavy heart." (NIV)

"Singing light songs to the heavyhearted is like pouring salt in their wounds." (MSG)

And then there's the KJV version, which I think makes it sound more legit:
"As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon nitre, so is he that singeth songs to an heavy heart."

post-grad thoughts

We all have 'em. Those spiritual lows that seem so low we can't get out of them on our own. Often times we can't, which is one reason community is so important. Spiritual valleys. They are certain, hopefully few and far between, but probable in many of our lives.

One potential time for a spiritual slump, without a doubt, comes post-graduation. Why? How does this happen? What can we do to avoid it?

I would agree those I've heard from on this topic that we post-grads may have a hard run ahead of us, at least for a short time. The environment on campus is so unique; I heard someone relate it to a spiritual greenhouse-- a schedule that allows tons of fellowship, people who are in your stage of life, the freedom to spend abnormal amounts of time with God in the Word/prayer/worship. Nothing beats the college atmosphere, and because of that we feel pulled to re-create it. But it's just not possible, so we shouldn't try.

Life after college brings demands we're not used to: first real jobs and new careers that warrant our most productive time, errands and responsibilities that steal our time away our free time, not to mention most of us move to a new location and must find a new community and church family.

The thoughts and emotions I had on the day I went from living in a big 4 bedroom farm house with my best friends to my 1.5 bedroom apartment by myself will never leave my mind. It was a tough adjustment to say the least. But I wouldn't trade the experience for anything.

Relevant Magazine had this to say on the subject:
"It’s easy to look back at the good times and feel like it was the activities that made those times what they were and want to reengage them. According to Josh Loveless, pastor of STATUS Church in Orlando, Fla., such a pursuit is a dangerous one. “You have to stop trying to recreate what worked last year,” he says. “Stop playing that worship CD that ‘did it for you’ three years ago...maybe you need to ask if there are other ways that God wants to meet with you.”

To try and recreate the spiritual high by recreating the activities of that time can lead to frustration, burnout and legalism — ultimately decaying your relationship with God.

It’s easy to forget it was because of God’s grace and His Spirit moving in your life that those spiritual activities helped you connect with Him in the past. Those activities flowed from an intimacy and relationship with God ... not the other way around."

The article goes on to show us what's in the other hand; "In the avoidance of empty forms, it’s easy to simply do nothing. For many in our generation, the pursuit of authenticity has trumped all other pursuits. Above all else, we desire to be real. We relentlessly question our motives and the motives of others, testing them for any sign of falseness, for any indication of forced affectation. We don’t want to make ourselves do anything — we want to want to do it."

So we choose not to do something just because we don't do it with the right motive instead of pursuing the right motive.

“A lot of times we abandon the standard because we realize we have been doing it for the wrong reason. The right response is not to abandon the standard, but to have the standard birthed out of something more correct, more true, more authentic, more sustainable.

By even asking these questions of high times and low times, we seem to be admitting one is better than the other. There’s a desire to “get through” the low times in order to “get back” to the high times. But what if both times are equally good? And not just in a clichéd way that says the low times are pruning and prepping us for the bigger, better times ... but in a way that embraces the low times as some of our most precious times with God.

“Are we comparing this and that instead of embracing that they both are what they’re supposed to be?” Austin asks. “And that might be the challenge we face—that we look at the dry times as a negative, instead of part of His journey with us.”

Anticipate the next season God has for you, but engage with this season you’re in right now. Understand that it will change you and it will change your faith. You cannot go back. 
But you can move forward—tested and purified." (italics are quotes from a Relevant Magazine article "What To Do When Faith Fades" found here).

the Isrealites

I woke up late yesterday morning, and had to rush to the office because I knew I had a lot going on today. Luckily the office is in my house, so I didn't have a long commute.

Anyway, after a few minutes of e-mail checking and organizing. I sat and stared at the computer, knowing what had to come next: preparation for making phone calls. To people I don't know and have never met. I got up to get some coffee, and sat back down. Deep Sigh.

The phone rang. I'm saved! (At least for a minute or two). It was my director, with encouraging news. I was immediately energized and re-focused; there is a point of all this ministry partner development stuff. I prayed a quick thank-you-God!, then remembered I was going to put extra emphasis this week on making my priorities my real priorities...and I'd already begun the day without reading my Bible or praying. I took some time to pick up where I left off last night in Numbers, and was met with several paragraphs of clarifications on offerings and sacrifices. Not atypical for the OT.

I know it's a very loose analogy, but in the sometimes monotonous readings of OT law and standards, I realized I can identify with the Israelites. There are elements of consistency and discipline in perform sacrifices and offerings to the Lord, which are elements of MPD. They were in a desert, MPD can be a desert. I could make a few more analogies, but they are even more of a stretch.

How To Sell Jesus

Do you act differently around non-christians than you do around your closest friends? I know there are times that I do. For a short period of time in college, I would say I probably put on a good face for unbelievers more than I'm actually honest with them. Then I got to a work environment where people were very real with me, and that made me want to be very real in return. And surprisingly, they appreciate this real-ness and I think they could tell that my life was actually different, and actually better, as a Christian.

I know there is a line between these two extremes: always acting like a good-little-Christian, versus living just like everyone else -- I just don't really know where it is. A recent article had this to say about it:

"The solution is for us to live like us … whoever we are. Here’s my strategy: whoever I am when I am alone or with my closest friends, is the person I’m going to be when I’m with non-Christians, too. That means I talk about my faith sometimes and sometimes I cuss, too. And in my experience non-Christians appreciate that kind of authenticity. They already know we’re not perfect. They just get annoyed when we pretend like we are."

It's a good article, check it out if you're at all interested in how we can best sell Jesus to other people (trick question--He sells Himself! Just don't get in his way).

Small Blessings: Med Students

I spent the weekend with med students. They are a crazy bunch. I had planned on working at home all weekend on MPD, but that fell through and I decided to join my soon-to-be-doctor friends at a cabin in a nearby state park. I knew it would be enjoyable, because they are a fun group, and I always learn a lot about the medical profession and terminology when I'm around them. Plus, we played games. I learned how to play airplane solitaire, and I beat it after maybe 20 tries. I also was excited to get out of town and get my fill of nature for the week (sitting around in a house in the woods totally counts).

Anyway, the reason for the retreat was the fast-approaching Match Day. If you're unfamiliar with this, I will explain; medical students in their 4th year of school apply at residencies. If they are well received, they get an interview. After this process is complete, they rank the residencies where they interviewed.

The tricky part is, the residencies rank all of the med students they interview, and both rankings have to match, hence the name Match Day. They find out today if they match; if they do, they find out Thursday where they go for the next 3+ years of their lives. Yikes. If they don't match, they must scramble (try to find a residency with spots left) and only have a few days to do so. Double Yikes.

I knew we'd talk about this process and the upcoming week a lot while we were hanging out, which was fine by me. But I didn't realize that I would find myself identifying so much with them and the stage of life they are at. They are all about to make big, big changes in their lives that will set the course for the rest of their careers. They will move to a new place, find new friends, and a new church (and have to work 80 hours a week, which is untrue of me (I hope)).

These students are hard-core trusting God with their futures. They don't know where they will match, or, truthfully, if they will match at all. They are pursuing their interests and what they think God wants them to do, but they don't know if those are the same thing. They have made some huge, tough decisions in their school and personal lives, and have worked hard to get to where they are. I was totally encouraged by their attitudes, thoughts and hearts in the midst of the waiting.

If you're reading this during the week of March 15-18, say a prayer for these med students- that they would know peace that passes understanding, and God's sovereignty in all things.

Head & Heart

My experiences in praying as a child are limited and few. I don't remember much, but I know that just about every night, I'd pray for God to bless my parents, my brothers, my friends, other relatives. Even the family dog made it in there once in awhile. I wanted God to take care of the people and things I loved.

While my heart was in the right place, my head was a bit confused. I prayed every night, knowing that each day was important and mattered in light of the rest of my life. I also remember thinking that if I didn't get the prayers exactly right, God wouldn't bless me or my family.

This isn't the only time I've sought out a ritual or tradition to bring me closer to God. I remember as a child watching with great interest as my mom took communion. Sometimes she'd kneel in our pew afterward for a minute or two, with her hands folded. I was always intrigued as to what she was doing (praying, was her answer, now be quiet). The first Sunday I was able to take communion, I was amazed I didn't really feel different after I took part in this sacrament. I honestly didn't really know the reason for communion, and was surprised to find that I didn't need to pray a special prayer while eating the cardboard-like wafer and drinking the thimble-full of wine (which always looked better than it tasted).

Ritualistic prayers or traditions won't get us closer to God. How great is the freedom to come to God at any moment, any time, with any concern or question.

Minnesota's 10 Commandments

Gosh, I know this is an oldie, but it's a goodie. And I know I'm not up nort' der in Minnesoootah yet, but this is jus' a darn good thing to remember, you know:


1. Der's only one God, doncha know.
2. Don't make that fish on your mantle an idol.
3. Cussin ain't Minnesota nice.
4. Go to church even when you're up nort.
5. Honor your folks.
6. Don't kill. Catch and release.
7. There's only one Lena for every Ole. No cheatin.
8. If it ain't your lutefisk, don't take it.
9. Don't be braggin bout how much snow ya shoveled.
10. Keep your mind off your neighbor's hotdish.

a thousand miles..

Been awhile since I've posted..sorry for that.
The last week or two out on the prairie have flown by. I traveled to the rockies for a wedding over the weekend, then hit the plains last week for MPD (support raising). It was a great trip! Great friends, views, experiences and conversations!

I've learned a lot about myself whilst doing MPD, and I learned a lot on this 1800 mile trip. It's so fun to meet new people! Taxing, but so, so fun. I have inklings of extroversion inside of me; while being around large groups of people can be a drain, one-on-one interactions with new people about meaningful things do energize me.. especially when I get to share about the way God has worked and is worked in my life. I love to share what He's teaching me and what I'm realizing about myself and the world (hence my interest in blogging).

So...my tendencies are introversion, but when offered the chance I can be extroverted. The jury's still out on whether I'm an S or N. Very debatable, most days.