Fall

This semester is flyyyyinggg by! Is it just me or does it seem like the leaves actually have time to change colors this year? I feel like it has been really cold around Halloween the last few years, but this year the weather's been pretty nice! I had some quality time with my sister today and we took some pictures on campus. Ah, I love all the fall colors. It compete with spring as my favorite season.

Surrogate Spirituality

This week I started reading Just Like Jesus by Max Lucado and I just wanted to share an excerpt that really convicted me. 

Surrogate Spirituality

     Wait a minute. Don't you do that. I know exactly what some of you are doing. You are tuning me out. Lucadao is talking about daily devotionals, eh? This is a good time for me to take a mental walk over to the fridge and see what we have to eat.

     I understand your reluctance. Some of us have tried to have a daily quiet time and have not been successful. Others of us have a hard time concentrating. And all of us are busy. So rather than spend time with God, listening for his voice, we'll let others spend time with him and then benefit from their experience. Let them tell us what God is saying. After all, isn't that why we pay preachers? Isn't that why we read Christian books? These folks are good at daily devotions. I'll just learn from them.

     If that is your approach, if your spiritual experiences are second-hand and not firsthand, I'd like to challenge you with this thought: Do you do that with other parts of your life? I don't think so. 

     You don’t do that with vacations. You don’t say, “Vacations are such a hassle, packing bags and traveling. I’m going to send someone on vacation for me. When he returns, I’ll hear all about it and be spared all the inconvenience.” Would you do that? No! You want the experience firsthand. You want the sights firsthand, and you want to rest firsthand. Certain things no one can do for you. 

     You don’t do that with romance. You don’t say, “I’m in love with that wonderful person, but romance is such a hassle. I’m going to hire a surrogate lover to enjoy the romance in my place. I’ll hear all about it and be spared the inconvenience.” Who would do that? Perish the thought. You want the romance firsthand. You don’t want to miss a word or a date, and you certainly don’t want to miss the kiss, right? Certain things no one can do for you. 

     You don’t let someone eat on your behalf, do you? You don’t say, “Chewing is such a bother. My jaws grow so tired, and the variety of tastes is so overwhelming. I’m going to hire someone to chew my food, and I’ll just swallow whatever he gives me.” Would you do that? Yuck! Of course not! Certain things no one can do for you. 

     And one of those is spending time with God. 

     Listening to God is a firsthand experience. When he asks for your attention, God doesn’t want you to send a substitute; he wants you. He invites you to vacation in his splendor. He invites you to feel the touch of his hand. He invites you to feast at his table. He wants to spend time with you. And with a little training, your time with God can be the highlight of your day. 

     A friend of mine married an opera soprano. She loves concerts. Her college years were spent in the music department, and her earliest memories are of keyboards and choir risers. He, on the other hand, leans more toward Monday Night Football and country music. He also loves his wife, so on occasion he attends an opera. The two sit side by side in the same auditorium, listening to the same music, with two completely different responses. He sleeps and she weeps. 

     I believe the difference is more than taste. It’s training. She has spent hours learning to appreciate the art of music. He has spent none. Her ears are Geiger-counter sensitive. He can’t differentiate between staccato and legato. But he is trying. Last time we talked about the concerts, he told me he is managing to stay awake. He may never have the same ear as his wife, but with time he is learning to listen and appreciate the music.

The Next Big Thing

A few weeks ago, I was listening to T. J. Mousetis' podcasts (click on the link if you're interested in listening to them!).  On his podcasts, T.J. shares advices and tips from his ten years of experience running businesses.  A little background: he began walkinlove ten years ago in order to fundraise for a mission trip. He realized his passion for designing tshirts. With hard work, dedication, and passion, walkinlove has grown to be a successful business. And when he married Brooke, he joined her wedding photography business and they had a really great business until they retired from photographing weddings. I really enjoy listening to the podcasts and I think he shares a lot of wisdom. One thing that he shared that really stuck out to me is episode four - "The Big Break Myth." In the episode, he shares how when he first rented a kiosk to sell tshirts, he ordered hundreds of shirts and had big expectations for it. He thought the tshirts looked great and thought they were going to get sold out really fast. They did sell a lot of tshirts, but it was only enough to strike even. He found out that it wasn't always the "next big thing" that helped his business move forward throughout these ten years. Rather, it was the constant dedication and improvements he daily strived for that led to the next big break. And often times, people think - "If I get ______ or if I do ______, it'll be my break." For example, "If I make an instagram and facebook for my business, then business will start booming." He made a lot of comments about a photography business (since he has a lot of experience with it). A lot of people think - "If I take really cool shots and post it on facebook then I will be booked." But what's important is that you practice taking a lot of pictures and get better at your skill. You need to keep learning and return the pictures to your clients in a timely manner. We often think that once we get the next thing, everything will change. What we fail to realize is that it's the little things that matter.

I think this applies to more than just businesses. In our Christian lives we have such great hope and expectations (which isn't bad), but we set extremely high standard for ourselves. When we don't achieve the high standards, instead of persevering, we give up. For example, you may want to start having devotions with God every day. I remember in high school, I would try to start doing devotions. I would go strong for a week or so, but then I would miss a day and then just stop. If you have never done devotions, chances are, you will miss at least one in a week (speaking from experience). But if you keep persevering (though you may miss days here and there), you find you enjoy spending time with God in the mornings. It's where we can find peace in the midst of our chaotic world. 

Even though I don't know how things will unfold, I do have dreams and hopes that God has given me. Yes, it's important to have a vision and dreams. But moreso than waiting for big things to happen, I think it's more important to be faithful to the little that I have now. We often forget that although the little things seem insignificant, it's what matters. If we cannot be faithful to the little that we have, how will God entrust us with bigger things? All the little things we do daily will grow - and we will look back and see that we have grown. One things I've been trying to do the past couple of months is to take more pictures and practice typography. It's tough and frustrating at times (also that it takes 30 + min to make one thing and you look at it for one second, haha), because I want to be there, but I'm here. But I love looking back even just to a year ago and seeing how much I learned!  I don't know where these things will lead me, but I hope that it will encourage others and ultimately glorify God.

Eyes on Him

I was having quiet time with God last Thursday morning and I felt like he was telling me - "Grace, look to me." Some days, I have more time to write out my prayers, but this day was short. If I look in back at my journal, it simply says in vibrant orange "Grace, look to me". As I wrote those four words that morning, I had no idea how busy it was going to get from then on. In the morning I wrote it as a declaration that these were the words God was speaking to me and I had no idea how timely these words were. After I came home Thursday, I was so tired that I ended up taking a nap (which I rarely do). Then the realization of all the due dates of all these assignments and exams started hitting me. Then I got really stressed Friday and Saturday thinking about all these things.

But then I was reminded of the last sermon from the "Tuned In" Series by Pastor Stephen Chandler. The part that convicted me the most was the point "stay humble". He gave a football analogy (not sure if I understood fully, but I'll do my best to explain it, haha). God is the quarterback and he gives you all the plays in the game that allows you to score, and win. It's not you doing all the work, but God. After years of playing, what if you come to God and say "God, I think I'm good. I can do it on my own." What's going to happen? You can try with all your might, but without God, you're going to lose. Not only is God not going to not be on your team, he's going to be in the opposing team. So the point of the analogy was that we need to stay humble. 

I look back to my freshman and sophomore year and I honestly don't know how I got through some of the classes and even did well in them. But I know it was God who brought me through then and i know it is God who will bring me through. I love what I do - teaching the youth group, teaching the media team, learning biology, taking pictures, etc. but altogether, it easily gets overwhelming. But I will get through this semester and the semesters after this the way I have gotten through them in the past - in spending time in God's words and in prayer. As the year began, I resolved to do my best to study the Word of God as a priority instead of something I do just in my free time (because who really has free time in college?). It's definitely been a struggle! Every Wednesday the thought that crosses my mind is - "to go or not to go to Bible study" but I believe that spending time in God's words and in fellowship with people in various parts of their Christian walk - it will not be in vain.

Yesterday I went to a talk by the University of Maryland at Baltimore Medical School admissions office, and it was really interesting to hear from the admission's point of view what characteristics a doctor needs. They look for the applicant to have maturity, patience, empathy, adaptability, and motivation. He told us that medical school is not a sprint, but a marathon. But I realized that life in general, is not a sprint, but a marathon. I can only see what right in front of me for now, but I will do my best to persevere and to be faithful to what God has given me now.

Also, this is a three part thing I made. It's from 2 Timothy 4:7. I hope to be able to declare this one day! I'm also giving a YDJ presentation on how Jacob is the shadow of Jesus this Friday. If you could pray for me, I would greatly appreciate it. :)