Holly: Trying to make a Mitch Albom reference...ha. ha. ha.
*cricket cricket*
So if any of you don't know who Andy Stanley is, I suggest
you remedy that asap. He is
awesome! We started a new lesson from
him in Sunday school this morning, it's called "Five Things God Uses to
Grow Your Faith". I was sold, I
kept thinking hey, I like big faith, I want my faith to blow up, as he kept
referring to. Anyway, Andy Stanley told
of five things that either show up when your faith is about to change, or
somewhere in your life story, one (or all) of these five things show up. Disclaimer: these aren't biblical, and they
might not all apply to you. But here's
how they apply to Kelly and I.
1. Practical teaching (i.e. Biblical teac. , l mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
(sorry, Yoda decided to attempt to nap on my keyboard. She says hello).
Let's try this again:
1. Practical Biblical teaching: So, unlike many other
Christians that I have come to know in my 22 years, I didn't grow up in
church. I don't even remember when I got
my first Bible or first got excited and on fire for digging into the word. But this one I have in particular sticks with
me: I was about to go on our Nicaragua mission trip, I was almost 18, I had no
clue what to expect. But I remember one
Wednesday night after youth group our youth group leader passed out Bibles at
the end. They were light blue with brown
dots on them. I dug into that Bible, and
to this day it's flimsy, the spine is worn, the binding is worn, and it's
highlighted, written in. In a sense,
it's loved. I don't use it much
anymore. Now I use my pocket NLT Bible,
which, much like my spotty Bible, is worn, highlighted, written in, etc. Which is a good thing, I suppose. :)
2. Providential relationships: This one is going to be HUGE
for me. I can't even begin to count the
number of people who have influenced me and my faith, good or bad. But for time's sake, a couple of people stick
out to me. The first would be my
academic adviser/boss I had last semester.
I'll make a series of long stories very, very short and just say that
he's been through A LOT. But what he
taught me the most was the practice...and power...of presence. Just being there. Being his class teaching assistant, I was
basically his right hand person, meaning I spent a lot of time with him. As he was dealing with all the stuff going
on, I began to become more aware, just aware of where I was and what I was able
to do to lessen his work load. He later
did confess to myself and the other student I worked with that us being there,
helping him out, really did make him feel better during his rough days.
The second person that was a faith pusher for me was my
pastor. I've known him for almost four
years now, and what I love the most about him (other than his smashing sense of
humor, which is going to humiliate his daughter in the future...lol!) is that
as he preaches, he isn't just speaking to the congregation on a pedestal; he's
speaking to himself. That levity and
humility is so refreshing....and so rare too!
A true, faith-fueled example of practicing what you preach.
3. Private disciplines: In 2009 during college I started
journaling again. To God. I can now use my journals and flip back to
those dark times and see how God worked in those situations. It's SO encouraging! I highly recommend journaling; it's tangible
prayer to me! I feel closest to God when it's just me, Him, and my pen and
paper.
4. Personal ministry: As I mentioned in the first thing, in
2008 I felt led to go on a mission trip to NIcaragua. My church had gone about 18 months beforehand
and I declined that trip. But something
was telling me to go on this one. And
it's so cliche, but it really did change my life! I saw the love of God explode in ways I had
never seen before. It was amazing! And although I did stray and eventually
rededicate my faith during my sophomore year of college, those memories,
people, events on that small ranch in Nicaragua had a huge impact on me. I hope one day to attend more mission trips.
5. Pivotal circumstances: Oh man, WHERE do I even
start?! I'd say an obvious one was when
I first came to Berea. Coming to Berea
gave me new relationships, a church family and home, led me to rededicate my
faith, challenged me, saw me at my best and at my worst. I can say without a doubt that Berea
strengthened my faith and it continues to do so, even though I have graduated!
Losing a friend almost seven years ago has spoken volume to
my faith too. For a while I was really
pissed at God, which I think led me to stray for a while. He had just become a Christian, and then bam,
killed in a car accident just like that! How could God do something like
that? The biggest lesson I learned,
other than overwhelming forgiveness from God and from myself, is that time is
short, and the world is our mission field! How will we be remembered?
These are just a few things on my mind and heart, and I'm
greatly looking forward to where this study is going to take me and my faith!
Kelly: Wait...how much time do I have??????
To sit here and make a laundry list of each one would be
pointless in my opinion. Also for the sake of time, which is running short
since we have to head out soon, I will keep my part of this simple. I remember
sitting in Sunday School and as each part was listed, I was thinking "oh
yeah, and in this part of my life was that one, and this part of my life was
that one" and so on and so forth. But the one that got to me the most was
the last one; pivotal circumstances. There have been several, and I mean
several as large as they get, circumstances in my life where in my opinion there
was no way out but God. Ok...not like THAT, but to the point where I felt I had
exacerbated all other resources with still no outcome. Most of the pivotal
circumstances I am thinking about were times when I really felt I was at my
wit's end. So I cried out to God in hopes that He would throw me a rope. But
now that I look back I realized the rope was already there and I had used my
own scissors to cut it.
Anyway, the point is, I too am looking forward to see where
this study will take me in my walk with Christ. Just remembering the little
things in life is already blowing my faith up. It really is cliche; if you can
thank and appreciate God for the little things, you will be more willing and
submissive to the larger things in life. Those larger things when you look back
and you can say to yourself "yes. That was God and nothing else." And
then I remember going to New Orleans. I was hesitant about going at first,
mostly because of the big elephant in the corner we often call money in this
day and age. I remember praying that if God wanted me to go on this trip that
He would provide. (STORY TIME). I had raised almost all the funds except for
about $60 when I was thinking I would have to pull my name off the list. I was
still working as a tour guide and had just finished a tour. Earlier in the tour
I had explained to my tourist group that I belonged to BCM and was getting
ready to leave for a mission trip. At the end, one of the ladies pulled me
aside, commended my work in Christ, and handed me $40. The rest is history.
Truly a life-changing trip...and place.
That was a little over 2 years ago when I went on that trip.
Many more circumstances have blown my faith up, and every day I am finding
something about my faith in Christ that blows me up with joy! Who would have
thunk it that something as simple as changing your daily thinking could be so
radical in the way we live as Christians? Again, who would have thunk it? A lot
of the things on the list Holly made I can connect to, but I also have a few
things of my own that I will probably mention in the privacy of my own thoughts
and God tonight. In the meantime, as this study continues, my goal is to think
of my own ways to blow up my faith. And my hope is that it isn't something
radical and life-changing, rather something as simple as waking up in the
morning or just trying to get through the day. Being a Christian isn't easy,
mind you. It's full of choices. You can choose to walk with God or not...at
least that's what I believe. You can let your faith in God blow up or grow up.
I'm trying to grow up in Christ. What about you?
No comments:
Post a Comment