April's Fury

So considering that we just ended the 24-hour weather watch marathon here in Sweet Home Alabama (officially dubbed by Fox 6 as April's Fury), there won't be an American Idol recap again tonight (sorry to disappoint AGAIN, Anna Little Morris!).

I do plan to hop on the interwebs and watch it tomorrow but I've got to say, it won't be the same with out my Stefano.

On another less humorous note, most of you around the South have probably heard about the terrible weather we had here in Alabama today. It was pretty wide spread throughout the state but I think it's safe to say that Tuscaloosa and Cullman got hit the worst. We're talking major destruction and fatalities.

Please keep the people who have been affected by these storms in your prayers. The people of Alabama have already started trying to find out how they can help in disaster relief and I couldn't be more excited to hear that. These storms today were no mistake. They were caused by The One who holds ALL in his hands.

I couldn't have said it better than what one of my college professors said on Twitter today: "Words that never rang truer than today: I will praise You in this storm..."

So, that's just what I'll do. I'll praise God for the incredible display of power that he put on today in his creation of nature and through his people. I pray that he gets the glory in the disaster relief of these storms.

To Him who can do immeasurably more than we can ask.

The Global Intiative

Surprise! This post is actually NOT about American Idol. Shocker. I know.

I hate that blogging has been put on the back-burner lately, since it's one of the very things that I love to do. Life has been kicking me in the hindparts lately, all whilst chasing me in this race some people would call work. I don't know that I've ever been this busy in my five years here at Samford. It's not all work's fault though. I'm getting ready for the next stage in my life (to be announced at a later date) and that, my friends, has been part of the problem. As lovely as it is.

But digress, I'm here to share a little linky click that meant to share about two weeks ago. This blog blessed my heart and I encourage you to read it and watch the videos and enjoy it as well.

It's called The Global Initiative and was written by my pastor, David Platt, on a recent trip to India. There are a few reasons why I love this link:

1. D. Platt has a way with words and his perspective on global disciple-making and the Word has completely revolutionized the way I look at the world and my faith right now. And he and his wife Heather are just precious.

2. It was so good to see my church family's faith, sacrifice and money at work in India.

3. It challenged me to look at how I'm living the gospel out in my everyday life. Especially the last post, "Do We Really Believe What We're Saying?"

I took about an hour out of my day a couple of weeks ago to read every post on this blog. I encourage you to do the same. Or at least break it up and read it all. I hope you are as challenged and encouraged by it as I am.

Enjoy!

Global Initiative Blog

Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With String

I was just about to start a post of funny/random web gems and use it as an excuse for a blog post because I've been struggling with some emotions and some thoughts and some things for the past couple of days and I wasn't really sure how to formulate meaningful sentences with all the words that are tumbling around in my head right now.

(And I thought the Apostle Paul was good at run-on sentences. Look at me.)

But then I just started writing and I couldn't stop. My cup overfloweth right now.

Yesterday was a pretty tough day for me. It was tough from the moment I stepped into my office until the minute I left at the end of the day. And it was tough for a number of reasons.

Work stress just kept beating me over the head, I felt horrible and to top it off my past came back to haunt me and you know that's never good.

Over the last year, I've watched someone from my past get everything I ever wanted and it has just gotten under my skin. I don't know why I let it get under my skin because truly that part of my life is over and done with, and has been for a while, but I guess when someone is that big a part of your life, and then it ends abruptly, and not very cordially, things tend to ruffle your feathers.

What I'd been forgetting, though, was that what I see that person getting, is not the life that God has planned out for me. At least not yet. And that if I was getting that life, then I would be miserable because I would be completely outside of God's will.

Then I think about all the great things God has given me since that part of my life has ended. And y'all it's a proverbial bucket-full of some incredible goodness. Amazing friends at work and at church. Once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that I wouldn't have had if I had been tied down to this or that. And most importantly, my growth and maturity in my relationship with Jesus Christ due to some powerful teaching and understanding of God's word. I've learned more about the character of God, His grace and his sovereignty in the last five years than I could have even imagined I could in a lifetime. I hate to think what I would've missed out on if God had not brought me to this town and these people.

Funny story: I got in my car to go to work this morning and thought I'd kick it with some old school John Mayer. So I opened a CD case and pulled out a mixed CD of JM's early tunes and when I put that sucker into the CD player, the first song that played was not John Mayer. It was Julie Andrews singing, "My Favorite Things". I literally laughed out loud. I reached to skip to the next song and caught myself. I stopped and pulled my hand away from the button. Nothing like some Sound of Music to get you going in the morning.

But what's really funny is it got me thinking. Ol' Jules is singing about how she thinks of her favorite things when she's sad or scared or frustrated. And it makes her feel better. I have certain songs or artists that I listen to that make me feel better when I'm down or scared. But I never thought about how thinking about my favorite things could completely change my viewpoint.

So I started thinking. Family. Old friends. New friends. Sweet memories. What God has done in my life. Those are my favorite things. That is what I should be dwelling on. Not the bad, icky stuff that happened in my past that satan tries to throw in my face to steal my joy. I should think about all the good stuff the Lord has given me, the intangible stuff, the non-material stuff. The eternity stuff.

And then I won't feel so bad.

Praying For...

I'm sure you've noticed the blog makeover. I hope one day I'll be able to afford a complete makeover that makes it cute and me, but for now it's just this.

I've also added a "Praying For" section over to the side bar because I've been very convicted of my prayer life lately. It's not a secret here on this blog that my faith is the most important thing to me. However, my prayer life has left much to be desired recently, and that's not a good thing when prayer (my main communication with God) becomes less than a priority.

So, I've created this section as a reminder for me (and you) of what I should be dwelling on each day. Not money, not being tired, not how much I want to not be working. But I should be thnking about those around me and in this world who need me to be storming God's throne on their behalf.

So, I've started a running list and I'm going to keep those requests on the list until they are answered. If you have something or someone you'd like me to add to the list, please leave me a comment.

God has called us to come to him on each other's behalf (Acts 2:42), so why wouldn't we be adamany about that?

Til I'm Home

I've just come home from an incredible night of worship and prayer at my church. I can't thank God enough for moving me to Birmingham five years ago and placing this church and its people in my life. I am have been truly changed by the truth that has been spoken into my heart and that truth then coming alive in my life.

One of those people who has completely spoken truth into my life has been Mandi Mapes. God has totally used Mandi to transform my heart and she doesn't even know. I barely know her. Maybe have spoken two words to her in a choir practice. But, she is just one part of the amazing worship team at Brook Hills. God has gifted Mandi in so many ways, with the voice of an angel, the ability to play many instruments, but most importantly, the mind and the heart to create music and lyrics that completely speak the heart of God's people.

Mandi has been leading worship for about three years now, and after much waiting from our faith family, she has finally put out a full-length album. It's entitled Til I'm Home and you can get it at iTunes. And I urge you to get it.

Much of what Mandi writes tells the story of redemption through Jesus Christ and points us to our eternal home. The chorus of one of her songs pleads:

"This world is not my home,

I'm a stranger in this country,

Jesus in me, won't you pour me out.

I'm ready to abandon all my shiny things,

my family and this American dream

Lord, come take it all from me

until there's nothing left but you."

If that's not a prayer for the life that we should be living I don't know what is.

Over the holidays, I finished reading John Eldredge's book Desire. It's a fantastic read and I recommend it to everyone. But it struck a chord with me personally because it hit straight to the heart of what I've been dealing with over the last couple of years.

I've been struggling with what my purpose is in this life. I feel called to greater things that what I'm doing right now and that's hard for me because I've worked so hard (and my parents have shelled out a lot of money) to get where I am right now. Now, I feel God calling me to a completely different arena.

I've talked (read: blogged) a lot about how my desires have slowly become what God desires and how my perspective on that has completely changed. Eldredge points out that we shouldn't be afraid of desire because desire fuels life and prayer and accomplishment. If we don't desire anything, then we are dead in our tracks. It's what we do with that desire that is the key.

He writes:

"The clue to who we really are and why we are here comes to us through our heart's desire. But it comes in surprising ways, and often goes unnoticed or is misunderstood. Once in a while life comes together for us in a way that feels good and right and what we've been waiting for. These are moments in our lives that we wish could go on forever. They aren't necessarily the "Kodak moments"...More often than not they come in subtler, unexpected ways, as if to sneak up on us...Something in your heart says, Finally--it has come. This is what I was made for."

"...even though we sleep, our desire does not. It is who we are. We are desire. It is the essence of the human soul, the secret of our existence. Absolutely nothing of human greatness is ever accomplished without it."

I don't want to give too much of the book away but the basic take-away I got from the book was that my desire should draw me closer to God, not because I'm pleading with him for that desire to be fulfilled (which we should be doing anyway), but because my desire should be rooted in God in the first place.

If we are followers of Christ, then we are heirs of God's kingdom. I never really understood what that meant until I read this book.

"...when Genesis declares we are God's image, it is describing not certain qualities of our character but capacities of our nature. This is why when the essence of our likeness to God is announced, it is in the context of our position upon the earth, our place in creation....Our original design was for a life of creative rule, to share in the overall care and development of God's creation."

"His plan is for us to develop, as apprentices to Jesus, to the point where we can take our place in the ongoing creativity of the universe." (The Divine Conspiracy, Dallas Willard)

When we all get to heaven (sing it with me now, WHAT A DAY OUR REJOICING THAT WILL BE!), we won't just be sitting around strumming harps and eating an unlimited supply of Krispy Kreme donuts with no consequences. We will be participating in the ongoing production that is the creation and sustainment of the universe.

WHAT?!? How cool is that? We will be apprentices to Jesus! Jesus doesn't just sit on a throne next to his dad and watch life go on like it's an Oscar-nominated drama. He's directing the entire show, people! Therefore, if we are co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17) and made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26), we won't be spectators in heaven. We will be participants.

I don't know about y'all but that makes me PUMPED to get to heaven.

So, with that said, how do I get to heaven. We'll I've already taken the first step (enter into a relationship with Christ). The second step? Either I die, or Jesus comes and gets me. Those are my choices.

I kind of think it would be cool to be alive when Jesus comes and gets me. No joke. But how do I make that happen?

Well, the Bible tells us that Jesus ain't coming back until the whole world has heard His name. When the ends of the earth are reached for him, and all the work that he started here is complete, then he'll come back. (Matthew 24:14)

So what does that mean for me?

In words of Niecy Nash, I better "git to gittin'."

Y'all, the gospel isn't going to get up on a Delta airplane and ship itself to the Middle East. And it's not going to put on suit and walk into your workplace tomorrow and share itself with your co-workers. Actually, if God wanted it that way, he'd make it happen. I mean there is that "the rocks will cry out" verse in the Bible.

But what a privilege it is that God has picked us out to be his instruments to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth.

We were once the ends of the earth. Just ask that Columbus guy.

So, in conclusion (because obviously I'm writing a thesis here), what are you going to do with your desire?

The Funny Thing About Christmas

I've just returned (well, not JUST. About three hours ago I did...) from the Stone Family Christmas gathering (my mother's side of the family). We did it a day early this year and yes, we are all at a loss of what we will do on Christmas Eve now.

Although half the family was missing, so many things remained the same. Chatting all long-time-no-see like with cousins. Stuffing our faces with finger foods. Singing "Children, Go Where I Send Thee" at the top of our lungs and in perfect three-part harmony. We are a musical family.

But also, asking the many kiddos what they've asked Santa for and if they've been good enough all year to get it. This is something we all do when we get around kids at this time of year, and it hit me today just how funny the whole thing is.

We sing, "he's making a list and checking it twice, gonna find out who's naughty or nice." We've ingrained into ourselves and our society, this figure, this man who gives gifts only to good little girls and boys. It's a ploy to get good behavior out of our kids. When my nephew starts acting up, the first thing that comes out of our mouths is, "Santa's still watching."

We've conjured up this idea that we have to perform for our gifts. There's this imaginary list that we try and try and try so hard to get on.

But the funny this is that the real meaning of Christmas reflects the exact opposite. Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. The very nature of God come to Earth in human form to save the entire world from the wrath of sin. He's THE gift of the season. The FREE GIFT of the season.

Unlike our gifts from Santa, we don't have to perform to receive the gift of Jesus Christ. In fact, there is nothing, absolutely nothing, that we can do, on our own, to get Jesus. Nothing. That's why it's called MERCY -- compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an enemy, the discretionary power of a judge to pardon someone, something that gives evidence of divine favor.

The bible says we were enemies of Christ but now we are co-heirs with Him in the kingdom of God. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And we didn't have to do anything or perform any task or act a certain way to gain His favor. He met us where we were -- dead deep down in our sin -- and He laid down his life and raised us up out of the yucky mess that was our life and now, when we confess Him as Lord, we will reign with Him in eternity.

And, we don't have to wait until Christmas day to receive the gift. It's there for our taking every single day.

Now, that's a gift worth taking.

Blog-Linkity Goodness 12.1.10

On this Wednesday, I share with you:

1. Our Fox channel here in Birmingham, spotlighted my church recently and talked to our pastor about what we call The Radical Experiment. I know it's reached people across the U.S. and around the world because we hear stories from those people and pray for those people every Sunday. I have to say I'm humbled by what I'm seeing God do throughout this process and very thankful that I'm being led by such a man as David Platt, along with other men who have a passionate commitment to making disciples of all nations. Click here to see the news package and here if you have 24:06 to watch the raw video of his interview.

2. If you haven't gotten Dave Barnes' Christmas album "A Very Merry Christmas", you need to drop what you are doing and go to iTunes or Dave Barnes' website and get it NOW. Seriously. My Christmas music collection never knew what it was missing until baby came along. His original songs are amazing and his version of "The Christmas Song" is chasing Avalon's for best version ever made. And his video for "Christmas Tonight" has everything, including Jennifer Lowe Hewitt. Watch it now.




3. If you didn't see my post about fashionABLE or if you did and don't remember where you can get a scarf, go here. Y'all they are cutie-patooty and are for a great cause. I just ordered mine Monday and can't wait for it to arrive.

4. Annie Downs' book, From Head To Foot, comes out in SEVEN days, people. That's exciting. It's her first and I know it won't be her last. It's geared toward teenage girls but I know the themes in her book will touch all women, young and old. This is a writer I admire so so much, who inspires me to take hold of what God has for me, and who I consider one of my spiritual heroes. If you have a teenage girl in your life who is facing or about to face those tough, yucky teenage-y years, this would be a great gift for her.

5. If you haven't seen the video for David Crowder's song, "Shine", consider this your Christmas gift from me.



6. And what's an editioni of Blog-Linkity Goodness without a link to SCL. Jon Acuff hit the nail on the head with this serious Wednesday post about when things in life don't go exactly as you planned.

God of All Comfort

I'm praying this over a lot of people today.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort." (2 Corinthians 1:3-7)

Jesus Wants The Rose

I just read Ephesians 1 which led me to remember how great Romans 8 is which led me to read Romans 5 praise God for the powerful truth in these words. It makes me really want to challenge myself to memorize the whole freaking book of Romans. That's some good stuff to pull out when you've got nothing to say.

So speaking of Romans 5, I wanted to share this video of Matt Chandler. Powerful.

Linky-Video Madness

Y'all, the bloggy neglect is out of control. You don't have to tell me. This I know.

With the athletic season cranking up, I haven't had the extra time that I usually do to spend blogging away about the nonsense around me. Plus, those episodes of Friday Night Lights and Rachael Zoe Project on my DVR aren't going to watch themselves.

Anyway, to break the silence on the blog today, I thought I'd share some webby nuggets I've either found or been introduced to this week. So here goes...

1. This video by our Director of Multimedia Services here at Samford Athletics makes me proud to work with such talented people. And it gets me excited for next Thursday night.

2. Another incredible post by Don Miller. I love how he focuses in on character on everything he does. Becauser really, that's what we are. And the post is so fitting for me right now as I try to figure out what the next step is for me in life. It's so true that knowing where you are going keeps you out of trouble.

3. Also another fantastic post by Mr. Acuff. So good and again, so fitting for me right now. Sometimes I think what I want to do is impossible. Or even living life the way God wants me to is impossible. And I wonder why God makes it so hard. But His Word says that when we are at our weakest point, that is when God loves to show off. Read it. You won't be sorry.

4. Allow me to introduce you to Catalog Living, if you don't already know what it is. Brilliant.

5. And last but most certainly not least, I hope everyone is as pumped for tonight's MSU vs. Auburn game as I am. I'll be watching with a few State fans and a few Auburn fans and well, y'all pray that I'll display a Christian attitude toward the opposition.

Look For The Reason

For the past few days and a large part of last night, I've been preparing for my first road trip of the year with the volleyball team. I gathered everything red, blue and khaki in my closet, threw it in a bag last night and shipped out this morning, with books and various Apple products in tow, ready to take on this massive nine-hour bus trip to the northwest corner of Arkansas.

However, when I get to work this morning at 9 a.m., I find out that the departure time was changed from 10 a.m. to 8 a.m. last night and no one bothered to fill me in. I'm a little annoyed that I wasn't informed of the time change, but I'm not angry at anyone. I'm just disappointed that I'm not on the trip. I was excited about visiting an SEC school that I've never been too. I was excited about spending time with people that I actually like to spend time with. And I was really excited to get to see the team actually play. So I'm not angry at anyone.

At least not anymore.

After much thought (Because that's what I do. Something happens and I can't help but just sit and play it over and over in my head. So annoying.), I decided that I've got to change my whole perspective on the situation.

What if I wasn't ever supposed to go on that trip? What is there's a reason that I didn't make it? What if God's got something planned for me here in Birmingham, this weekend? Something that he wants me to be a part of, and experience. Something he doesn't want me to miss.

I have to think that's the case. Because The Big Man has yet to steer me wrong. God's been testing my faith recently and I know for a fact that the tests are about to get much, much harder.

So instead of sulking about missing a bus trip to Arkansas, I should look at it this way:

1. I'm not stuck on a bus for nine hours.
2. I get to sleep in my own bed. In my own room. Alone.
3. I don't have to share a bathroom.
4. I can eat and use the bathroom when I want to. (And where I want to. Eat, that is. I'm pretty sure there's really one acceptable option for the other. Unless you're a bathroom snob.)
5. I can watch Big Brother and Project Runway tonight and not have to wait until I get home on Sunday.
6. I won't have to worry about being back in town on Sunday in time to see NeedToBreathe for the fourth time in about 5 months. For free!

In the meantime, I'm going to ask God to help me see the good in the situation. To help me be sensative to those moments that he held me here for.

Radical

Do not read this book. I repeat -- Do NOT read this book...unless you want your life turned upside down.

I read this entire book yesterday. And yes, I worked an eight-hour day as well. Someone call the Guiness World Record people because I think this may have been a personal record for me. I've never, EVER finished a book in a day. Unless it was Dr. Seuss or Berinstain Bears.

When you go to this book's website, you are immediate confronted with this question:

WHAT IS JESUS WORTH TO YOU?

Just like that. In big bold capital letters. And here is what follows:

"Do you believe that Jesus is worth abandoning everything for? Do you believe him enough to obey him and to follow him wherever he leads, even when the crowds in our culture -maybe even our churches- turn the other way?"

In Radical, David Platt invites you to encounter what Jesus actually said about being his disciple, and then obey what you have heard. He challenges you to consider with an open heart how we have manipulated a God-centered gospel to fit our human-centered preferences. With passionate storytelling and convicting biblical analysis, Platt calls into question a host of comfortable notions that are common among Christ's followers today. Then he proposes a radical response: live the gospel in ways that are true, filled with promise, and ultimately world changing.

That doesn't even begin to scratch the surface.

I'm going to tell you, I have a love-hate relationship with this book. Why? Because I love and hate every word of this book. It's doused with conviction. Every word stings hard and then wakes you up to the reality that fills our world today. It leaves your brain thinking, "Are you kidding? I can't do that!" And all the while, your hands and feet are set in motion to shake the world by a force that is too strong to resist.

What is that force? It's faith, conviction, the Holy Spirit. It's the incredible urgency that you feel when you truly understand what we are called to do and you truly see the physical and spiritual need around the world.

And this isn't the first time I've heard of this "Radical Experiment" thing. I've been hearing about it throughout the last year. Every Sunday from the pulpit. I've even participated in it. I leave worship with such a burden that I feel like I should sell my car right there and walk the 20 miles to home because what good is me having a car when there are people around the world that are dying, inside and out?

So don't read this book. I'm begging you. Don't.

You'll find none of the things that you think matter in this world - money, fame, success -- none of them matter when there are 4.5 billion people out there who haven't even heard the name of Jesus Christ.

None of them know the love of a Father who works everything out for the good of those who love him. A Savior who looks at us in our sin and calls us, "My beloved," because the eyes of Jesus see no sin. A Lord who rules over all, protects us from all and is just in all his ways. A God who desires to see his glory and his name be exalted above anything throughout the universe because to desire anything else would be to deny the very nature of who he is.

So just stay away from the book.

This book leaves you broken -- for yourself, your loves ones and people you don't even know. It lights a fire in your soul that urges you to give up everything -- for some, material possessions; for some, entire careers; for some, both -- for the cause of Christ.

We all, at some point in ourselves, walk around wondering what our purpose in life is. We read book after book, seek advice, rack our brains and still come up with no answer. This book says that everything you ever wanted to know about what your purpose in life is supposed to be is found in the Bible. Specifically in Matthew 28:19-20.

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

So if you want your entire life flipped upside down, be my guest.

If not, don't read it.

I dare you.

The Burden's Getting Lighter

I think the burden that I've been feeling throughout the last six months is getting lighter because the vision for my purpose and my future is getting closer. Not because I can see it, but because I'm trusting the gut feeling called "God".

I just had to share John Acuff's post from today's Stuff Christians Like. It completely touched my heart and I felt like God told him to write that post just for me. Which he probably did.

I usually link to the post but I feel like, for some reason, that I should just include the whole post. No plagarism. All the credit goes to Jon Acuff.

Below is the post in it's entirety:

#831 Building benches instead of frisbees.

My dad uses his feet like hands, much like a gorilla opening a banana, when he loses frisbees in the pond at the disc golf course.

He’s not above stripping down to his shorts and diving in to recover discs. The pond is dark brown and is populated with turtles, snakes and frogs. If his disc lands in it, he walks around with his bare feet feeling in calf deep mud for it. Just typing that last sentence made me squirm a little.

But the course we played in Atlanta didn’t have that problem. There was no pond, just 18 holes of awesome spread across a massive park called “Wills.”

It did have a problem though.

Because the course was so spread out, it was hard to find your way from hole to hole. Some were literally a 1,000 yards away from each other so navigating the course was difficult. Or it used to be. Everything changed when a Boy Scout got involved.

He was earning his Eagle Scout badge. He was installing yardage signs that pointed the way between the holes. My dad and I ran into him one morning. He and his father were digging holes and dropping the poles in. When they told us what they were doing, the father said something that years later stuck with me. He said:

“He’s doing it for his Eagle Scout badge. Sure beats building a bench.”

On the surface, that’s not so profound. That doesn’t really leap off the blog does it? But the more I reflected on it, the more I realized it challenged my understanding of God.

See the truth is, I’m not completely sure God wants me to have fun. Like people who believe the first thing God will do if they turn over their lives to him is make them be missionaries in Africa, I’m not always convinced he wants me to really enjoy what I do.

When I sometimes imagine “doing the work of the Lord,” I imagine sweat and tears and hard work and being obedient and disciplined and self controlled. Turns out, in my head, I serve a God who makes me build benches.

But what if I’m wrong?

What if you’re wrong?

What if we’ve all been wrong?

What if God doesn’t want more benches?

What if God wants you to build signs for Disc Golf because he knows you love that game?

What if God wants you to write books because he knows you love that?

What if God wants to unearth all those things you’ve hidden because you thought you weren’t talented enough? What if he wants you to roll around in the joys you thought were too silly or stupid or not spiritual enough?

I don’t think that’s impossible. A friend of man argued as much when he told me his opinion about Matthew 11:28-30. Here’s what those verses say:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

My friend felt that when we find our purpose. When we surrender and are obedient to the Lord and find the thing he has uniquely prepared us for, the burden feels light. It feels easy. We’re in the zone. We could run a million miles or feed a thousand mouths or sing a 100 songs depending on what we’ve been called to do. We’ve got the entire universe of God pushing with us and there’s a sense of freedom and momentum there that is difficult to describe.

To other people, what we are doing will look difficult. They will not always understand. I felt that way writing the Stuff Christians Like book. Another blogger quit his job and stopped writing his blog while he wrote his book. He didn’t have any kids either. I on the other hand, kept my full time job at AutoTrader.com, kept writing the Stuff Christians Like blog, kept playing with my two kids, kept freelance writing for Chick-fil-A, kept writing for North Point Community Church, stayed plugged into my men’s Bible study and kept filling my wife’s bucket with attention and time. How?

The yoke was easy. The burden was light. I was doing the thing uniquely created for me. I wasn’t flailing against a park bench I was never designed for. I was serving the God “who satisfies your desires with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (Psalm 103:5)

Life gets twisted when you try to build someone else’s bench. Life gets painful when you disrespect your gift or talent or calling because it “doesn’t count.” The devil is desperate for you to discount the thing God has called you to. The devil wants you to take on some other burden that isn’t light or easy.

I don’t know what God has in store for you. It won’t necessarily be easy. That Boy Scout was sweating as he dug those Disc Golf signs. Stuff Christians Like whips my butt some mornings. But that Boy Scout was smiling as he sweated and so am I because we’re not building benches.

Long live the God who doesn’t need our benches.

Someone Call The Authorities

...'cause this blog neglect is out. of. control.

I know there's only about four of you that actually read this baby, but that's four folks that care what I have to say (or are just really bored), so I apologize for the blog neglect lately and for the upcoming neglect as well.

It seems these days that my mind is going much faster than my fingers are willing to type, so therefore, by the time I sit down to write about the things that I've been thinking about, my mind tells my fingers, "Dude, you should've kept up with the train."

I did have a few things I wanted to share today though.

As always, for easy reading and aesthetic pleasure, a list:

1. If you love The Bachelorette (like me) and you are slightly obsessed with Aly and Roberto (like me), you'll either love or hate this joint-post by Bryan Allain and Tyler Stanton. These guys present, "15 Life Lessons From The Bachelorette". You can thank me later. My favorites? 1, 2, 3, 5, 12, 14...well all of them really.

2. I posted on Twitter earlier today that if I could be half the writer that Donald Miller is, I would consider that a blessing. Y'all, the man has some serious skillz. Emphasis on the "Z" meaning I'm serious about the serious part. If you've heard of him, you'll know he wrote Blue Like Jazz, Searching For God Knows What, A Million Miles In A Thousand Years, Through Painted Deserts. All good stuff. They always leave you wanting more.

He's an expert on story, and has some great insight on God. So, it's no suprise that Don's (see, it's so good that I feel like we could be on a first-name basis and comfortable to shorten his name to Don) blog is a bright spot in my day.

I have my Google Reader tuned in to bring me the latest and greatest from his blog every day. I've really been enjoying his stuff lately. Especially his Lucy series, blog posts "written" by his lab Lucy and this one and this one.

3. I know this might be a little cheese-tastic to some of you, but for those of you who read this little space of the internet and know what's going on in my brain right now, I think you'll understand it. This scene from Sister Act 2: Back In The Habit is really resonating with me right now.



4. This guy just sang what America was thinking.


5. And finally...

Never give up.


Remember people. You can do anything you set your mind to. All you have to do is:

1. Believe in yourself. No, really believe. See that time you didn't believe hard enough because it didn't work...there you go. 30th time is the charm.

2. Formulate a plan of action. Like believing that no matter how many times it takes, you WILL crack that board over your head. Come concussion or forehead-to-spine stitches. Just believe.

3. Follow through. Follow through...all the way to the ER.

They Say It's Your Birthday...

So Happy Birthday to me!

I really can't believe that I turned 27 today. Last week I read a piece that Annie wrote about her birthday. She said that turning was such a scary and daunting word, so she was choosing to twirl into the next year of life this time. I like that. And today, I've been twirling. Really.

Today really has been one of the best days I've had in a long time. And that's saying something for a work day. People have come out of the wordworks to wish me a Happy Birthday (even ESPN!) and I have felt so very loved. I even got flowers at work which, if you are a single girl, you know is a gift from heaven.

I'm not so much of an attention person (secretly, I am) but today, I've chosen to sit back and let God rain down his love and mercy over me through his people.

It really makes me laugh, and brings me to my knees, to see how far God has brought me in the last 20 years.

Twenty years ago, I gave my life to Christ. He came into my heart and took away my sin.

Ten years ago, I found myself on my way to college and falling quickly in love with a boy I'd never thought I'd see in a "romantical" way. Somewhere along the way, I lost sight of who the most important person in my life was supposed to be. First it became the boy, then it became me. I had forgotten that God, while loving and merciful, was a jealous God. And he frankly wasn't going to take it anymore.

Five years ago, God moved me out of my comfort zone and started working in the deep down yucky parts of my heart. He started by proving his faithfulness to me through provision and then he got down and dirty. He's shattered me like a clay pot and has been meticulously (there's a five million dollar word for you) been putting me back together. Slowly but surely.

He placed people in my life that weren't only teaching me from His Word but challenging me to put those teachings into practice. And that group of people ranges from pastors to close friends.

I read somewhere, and I think it might have been Jon Acuff's twitter, the following question and I may have shared this before. Does God have the right to crack the vessel if breaking it is the fastest way to share with the world what he poured into it?

My answer is a resounding yes.

I think along the way, I've been giving God a little piece of my life here and a little piece there. Recently, I just dumped it all into his big hands because that's where it should have been in the first place. For what I believe is the first time in my life, I'm stepping out on faith and leaving the rest up to Him. He knows better than I anyway.

I'd say 26 was an okay year, not without it's trials and hurts but I learned a lot from it. I'd say it was my growing pain year. (Emphasis on the pain.) Do you remember when you were little and your bones and your muscles would ache? You complained to your parents and they would diagnose it as growing pains. It hurt, but you came out on the other end of it stronger and maybe (not me) taller than you were before.

I know that I've still got my fair share of pains to endure. We all do. And they won't stop until we have reached the end of this life. And if they do stop, that means we've stopped growing in our relationships with each other and Jesus Christ.

However, if today is any indication of what 27 is going to look like, I'm quite pumped, to put it plainly. I see a lot of big things coming my way. One huge change, but one that will put me right where I need to be -- in the center of God's will.

I plan to take a lot of risks. Live life a little louder. And hope to make a difference for the glory of God the Father, in one way or another, everyday.

I listened to Francis Chan's last sermon yesterday and he said this: "There will be no cowards in Heaven."

I hope that when I reach the place of judgment, God looks down at me and can say, "Well done", because I dared to live radically for His namesake.

Hello, Wake Up Call? How Are You Today?

Thanks to Annieblogs for sharing this. With everything that I've been mulling over in my brain for the last month (post about that will come one of these days), this video is a huge wake up call for me, albeit funny as well. It doesn't matter how big of a show you put on if the sincere TRUTH is not coming out of your mouth in the name of Jesus.

Go, Go, Jonah

For some reason (God's timing), I've just started to grasp what God has been doing in my heart over the last year and a half. What that is will entail a completely different blog post but for today, I wanted to share the message from my church last Sunday. I'm sad I wasn't there to hear it in person, but that is why God made the internet, right? God. Not Al Gore.

Anyway, the message was about Jonah. A familiar story to everyone, yet I don't know that a lot of us really understand the story past Jonah getting swallowed up by a big fish. I know I didn't.

I feel like God has been calling me to make some grand and specific changes in my life for the good of His people all over the world and for the glory of His name. Yet, I've been running away and hiding because I really didn't understand why He wanted me to be involved. I didn't realize that it's not that he needs me, but that He wants me to see His glory just as much as those who don't know Him. Needless to say, God has completely burdened my heart, given me a sense of urgency and the confidence that I need to depend solely on Him for what my next step should be.

If you have about 107 minutes to spare, please watch this video, or even go download the FREE podcast from iTunes. You won't regret it. If you don't want to spend 107 watching the video, at least watch the part from the 8:43 mark to 15:40 (the song was written by the people on the stage). It's great. Hilarious. Entertaining. And educational.

Blog-Linkity Goodness 5.19.10

It's time for more linkage. The internet kind. Not the hot dog kind.

- While my daddy was taking a little doctor ordered rest time last month, he decided to go fishing on day and take my furry little brother, Randy, along. Randy always makes things interesting. This outing was nothing different. Check out his story here.

- Also get his take on cowbells here too. It's always good to hear a players' perspective on the subject.

- This post of Jon's at Stuff Christians Like is hilarious. It includes Justin Beiber, Ludacris and the Black Eyed Peas.

- I'm not a big Paul Finebaum fan but the day I read this I was. He wrote a great article on Dan Mullen and the future he has in college football. If you bleed Maroon and White and haven't read it yet, click here.

- Did you see American Idol last night? Did you see Lee Dewyze, who might have to fight Tim Tebow, for my hand in marriage? No? Watch this.



- Last but not least, I hate that I've waited this long to share this with you bloggites, but it's only because I've waited this long to watch it. This is a link to my church's Easter service. (And just for fun, I've embedded the video player below.) David focused on the Love Story that is presented in the book of Ruth. If you don't know the story, please go read it. It's only four chapters and it will change your life. I think I've studied this story about three times in the last three years and it gets better every time. It's such a beautiful, TRUE, realization of our need for the redemption that can only come from Jesus Christ and the immense love of a God that actively pursues us day after day. I love it even more because Mandi Mapes was able to display the amazing gifts that God has placed in her life through her testimony and her talents. Mandi is the girl singing those songs and she wrote them all as well. If you like, you can get them on iTunes.

The Weekend That Was - Part 2

Alternate title for this post: Four Warnings and A Wedding

I know it's been about three weeks since I talked about The Weekend That Was, but now it's time to get back to the story-telling.

Saturday (April 24) was Kelly and Raymond's wedding. Every kind of severe weather warning you could think of what covering the state of Alabama. And did I mention it was an outside wedding? Yeah.

Nicole and I packed up and headed south to the 4H Center where the wedding was being held. The sky seemed to get better and better the further south we went, and an hour later, we ended up in the middle of nowhere at the site of the wedding.

At one point, driving through Small Town USA and passing deserted pastures, we kept our eyes on the sky for stray flying bovine.

All was well as we got to the wedding. The rain had subsided, if only for a few minutes, and we made our way under the chapel pavillion to take our seats. Meanwhile, we passed Kelly who was fully prepared with her yellow galoshes.

It was a small ceremony of her closest family and friends. Everything was so personal. All of her friends pitched in. Every decoration, invitation, snack, finishing touch, etc., was done by a family member of friend.

Here's what I contributed:

Instead of printing programs, she had me just do one big program and had it framed. Kelly's is a lover of all things rustic wood so this was perfect for her. Her colors were baby blue and chocolate and her flowers were daisies so I added that into the design.

Besides the funfetti wedding cake and the groom's cake made of Betty Crocker brownies made by small group members, the ceremony really was my favorite part of the day. Although it starting pouring halfway through the ceremony, it really was a testament to God's faithfulness to us and his persistence in his pursuit of an intimate relationship with him.

The moms walked to the great praise and worship song, "In Christ Alone" and when they were in place, the congregation stood and we sang the remainder of the song. Then the bridesmaids processed in to Third Day's "Offering" followed by Kelly who was escorted by her sweet daddy. The song is one that Kelly has always said that she wanted to walk down the aisle to and it was such a sweet moment to see that finally happen for her.

Kelly and Raymond's love story is such an earthly representation of God's pursuit of his people. The couple met at Lakeshore Foundation where Kelly works and were Raymond became a member after his motorcycle accident. They became great friends and have remained friend for a number of years.

Probably since he's known her, Raymond has pursue a romantic relationship with Kelly, but Kelly, being a Christian, stuck to her guns and wouldn't date a nonbeliever. Kelly had always been very open about her faith with Raymond, as she is with everyone she meets. She invited him to church and small group and about two years ago, he finally caved and started coming to small group with her.

For the first little while, he was just going to spend time with her. But after a while, Raymond really started to respond to what he was learning and going even when Kelly couldn't go.

Through a series of events last spring, Raymond decided that he was tired of running from the God that was actively pursuing him. He stopped and turned and allowed God to take control of his life.

Shortly after, Raymond confessed his feelings for Kelly again and Kelly finally knew that God's timing had finally worked itself out. About three months later, in January, he Kelly's dad for her hand in marriage on a trip home to Miami to visit her family. A week later, he proposed and four months later, they are husband and wife.

It's really been amazing to see God's plan for both Raymond and Kelly unfold. It's a true testament to his faithfulness in two respects. One - his faithfulness to Kelly (over 30) to provide a mate after wondering if she would ever meet him. And two - his faithful pursuit of Raymond's heart, year after year after year.

God's awesome, isn't he?!

Small Group Photo Op

So, that's the story of Saturday.

Maybe in a month, I'll be back with the story of Part 3.

One Single Struggle

I started this post as another edition of Blog-Linkity Goodness but this one link I have to share kind of calls for a whole post of its own.

Let me preface...

Lately, I've been burdened a bit (read: a lot) by the direction my life is headed. I've prayed for many years Psalm 37:4.

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart."

I think for a long time I've just been praying the second half of that verse.

Recently, I've really been confronted with frustration about my singleness. If you would have asked me four years ago if I would still be single at the age of 26, I would have laughed in your face and told you my whole wedding plan.

Nowadays, I'll tell you my whole wedding plan, but I just am not laughing as hard anymore.

So many thoughts run through my head. My parents were married at my age. My sister was four years younger than me when she got married. All but two of my best friends are married. I see college friends who have now been married for four or five years and are now having their first or second child. Girls who were freshmen when I was a senior in college are married and having kids. I'm watching people live the life that I thought I would be knee deep in by now.

And it is a little bit disheartening. And I guess it is okay because that is the way God made me. He gave me these desires and these emotions for a reason.

However, over the last two or three years, I really started concentrated on the first part of that verse.

"Delight in the Lord."

For a large part of my life, I didn't really understand what that whole "delight" word was about. Except that is was half of the title of the best Stone family dessert - Chocolate Delight.

But God has recentlyshown up in my life in a way that I've never seen before. He has shown me things about myself and Himself that I had failed to notice before. And I think that I wasn't noticing those things because I wasn't looking for them and I had been distracted.

I'm a believer in the notion that nothing is coincidence. God has a purpose and plan for everything that happens in our life because it all fits in to His will to bring glory to His name.

I think the mixture of maturity and singleness, along with the grace of God and the love of family and friends, have made me who I am today. I think that at the end of high school and throughout my college career, I was distracted by the feeling of falling in love and finding a husband when I should have been actively pursuing my One True Love.

I had replaced desire to be loved and fulfilled by God, the one who loved me first and will never stop loving me, with the desire to fall in love to a guy and be married and start a family.

It's what every girl dreams of, right? The guy, the proposal, the ring, the dress, the church, the house, the picket fence.

What I have just become to grasp is that I've been going about it all wrong.

God has commanded us to love him with all our heart and soul and mind and strength and to love each other as we would love ourselves. THEN everything else flows from that.

I have realized that what I need to focus on is being in the center of God's will. After that, everything will fall in place. And if I'm not pursuing a relationship with God day after day, what the heck am I doing? Why would I not want to spend my time getting to know the person who created me, who knows my ins and outs and still loves me anyway. Isn't that really what all of us girls are looking for in a guy anyway?

You know, Psalm 37:4 is written the way it is written for a reason. In elementary school, we are taught cause and effect right? One thing leads to the other. If push the gas pedal on my car (cause), it goes (effect).

When we delight in God, when we actively pursue him and long to fall deeply in love with him, his desires become our desires.

I know there were times when I dated a guy and became interested in something that he was passionate about because he shared that passion with me. And vice versa. That's what happens in our relationship with God.

After "the break-up" my junior year of college, I really (surprising myself and taking a lot of advice from my sister) dove deep into God's word and tried to figure out where my fulfillment was coming from. Was it coming from God or was it coming from this boy? Before I could really figure that out, I became entangled in that relationship and again and never really learned that lesson. It took God transplanting me into a completely new life for me to figure out that was tapping into the wrong source of fulfillment.

So...I say all that to say this. This morning I stumbled upon, or shall I say, God led me to Jimmy Needham's website for a reason. Not only is this guy and talented musician who loves the Lord and writes about it from his heart, he's given his wife, Kelly - a girl who struggled with the same burden I am currently struggling with - an outlet to share her story and to encourage girls like me. The wisdom and humility in what she writes is overwhelming and I found myself feeling like I was reading the inside of my own heart.

I know that I'm not the only girl struggling with this burden because I know that I'm not the only girl out there who feels like the desires of her heart aren't being satisfied on the timeline that she thinks they should. So I wanted to share Kelly's Page with all of you fellow singles out there.

Kelly gives some amazing insight in how she walked through this struggle before meeting Jimmy and backs it up with some incredible scripture. As all things should be.

One of my favorite quotes (because I have a lot) from what she writes is this: "Instead of finding fulfillment in Jimmy, I found in him an incredible gift from God that daily turns my attentions back toward Jesus. I love that our God is a jealous God. he longs so much for our affection, that he won't give us anything that will threaten his place in our hearts."

I don't want my husband to be a distraction from my affection towards God. I want our relationship to be a gift that we praise him and give him glory for everyday of our lives. Because that kind of love only comes from God and only He alone is worthy of the glory.