holy ground- part 3

Reverence.

Until tonight I wasn't sure what that word meant. Dictionary.com helped me out and taught me it means to have deep respect tinged with awe. I began thinking about how we can worship with reverence and also experience intimacy. I think sometimes we may get caught up because they are so interrelated. Part of the reason we are in so much awe is because He calls us to be so intimate with Him. Because He cares about bad days, skinned knees, lost jobs, etc. We learn that He is beyond involved with our lives.. so it can be tough to step back and remember how important reverence is. At least for me..

I need to take some time to pray that God will help me to grow in this area so that I may show Him more reverence and worship Him fully.

holy ground- part 2

Today's reading discussed how we need to remember that not only is God our friend who can we take with us everywhere we go and chat with along the way, but also that He is Holy. He deserves to be worshipped as such, not always in such a casual way.

I think that I do a good job of being in constant conversation with God throughout the day. I am good at the casual stuff. I am not so good with the rest. I need to make more time for solitude, silent worship. I need to clear parts of my day to just be still and pray. There are times when at church I need to be still and wait. I need to prepare in the chapel before corporate worship begins.. these are things that I need to work on.

So here is to starting on these next steps!

holy ground- part 1 reflection

First and foremost, I want to say that this part of the devotional really jumped out at me and caught my heart: "Though God created the world and the world bears the stamp of his nature, God is not the same as the world. God is so much bigger and better than the biggest and best in creation. In him there is no hint of evil, no compromise of righteousness, no slackening of justice, no confusion of truth, no limitation of love. He is a holy God: set apart, special, unique." It is so wonderfully written and it really came into me and settled.

I think that so many times when bad things happen we associate them as coming from God. We look at the world around us and we attribute it to Him. But no, we are wrong. We have tampered with what He created. It is not on Him, it is on us.

So what comes to mind when I think of the word holy?

God
beauty
purity
wholeness
connectedness
Spirit
calling
..just to name the first few that come to mind.

But this is not always what has come to my mind. Before believing I could never understand who would want to go to church or believe in a holy God when it was just a list of "don't do this and don't do that". But this view, like many, have been changed by God's dear grace, by His mercifulness and His completely 100% holy nature.

i love my small group

I haven't been feeling very well lately and today I was saddened by the decision to not host small group. It is one of my favorite parts of the week and I hate to miss it. I also didn't want to cancel it all together just because I wasn't feeling well. I called Brit and she of course said that she would host this week. I let the other members know and a bit later I headed for my bed for a nice nap.

Just as I was dozing off, I heard a paper slide underneath my door. I figured it was a CAB announcement or a note from one of my residents. It was neither of these things. It was a simple card. Written in black pen on a white lined piece of paper.

"Get Well Soon. Chelsea, we all miss you and hope you start feeling better soon. We'll keep you in our prayers! You are amazing, rest up! Love you lots. Brit, Steph, Kate, Marcus."

I started crying because I was so happy to receive such a simple gift. It was such a simple act, but one full of love.

How do I "taste" God?

Starting off with these great daily devotionals that Ben has posted in Unifyer! I think this is such a great idea and really hope that other people blog about them as well :)

So how I "taste" God and experience Him most?

I would have to say that recently I encounter Him most when I look at my sister, or Steve.. or I get a message on facebook from a close friend with encouraging words to start my day. When I take a 10 minute drive off campus just to get away, and He meets me at the top of the hill and directs my gaze towards the beautiful tall grass blowing in the wind. It is in the everyday things that to some may seem mundane, that God has revealed Himself to me most lately. In a voicemail from little Jenna telling me she can't wait to see me this summer. Or in an accepted invitation to church by my mom. In the smile on my dad's face when he tells me that he is still going to AA meetings.

I see God here. I taste His sweet goodness in these moments. He is good.

The ABCs of God's Goodness: L

God is love.

I have this tattooed on me. I take it awfully seriously and it is the first characteristic I learned about God as a Christian. Before believing I may have said things like "God is fake" or "there is no God".. and the list goes on. But right here, right now.. I know that God is love. To say that He is loving isn't enough. It goes beyond that. He is the maker of everything. He doesn't just love us and the earth He created.. He IS love.

The purest, most beautiful and graceful love. The kind of love that we all ought to strive to show.

ABCs of God's Goodness: K

God is knowledgeable.

We think that when we get an A on a test or graduate with a 3.5 that we are smart.. that we are knowledgeable. We think that once we have been at a job for a few years and are in good stand with our boss, that we have got it down-- that we have gained all of the knowledge we need.

God knows everything. EVERYTHING!! He has all knowledge about all things because He created everything.

He is the real smarty pants :)