We are a Funny People

We are a funny people! We want people to understand and read our minds without letting them know how we feel, we want things to happen without doing anything, we  try to express ourselves through other people's ideas, and we repeat the same mistakes and wonder why it never works. It's all contradictory to itself. People cannot know how we feel if we don't tell them, things will not happen if we don't do anything, and repeating our mistakes will not solve the problem. So why do we do this? The answer...we are fallen and quite frankly a funny people. We try to solve all our problems from sources and ideas that are not reliable and truths that are masked by the ever present scope of 'falseness'. So how do we get out of this vicious circle that seems to envelope every generation that comes around. We form our lives around truth that is reliable and never changing. Truth that can change lives from being bored, passive, and uninspired to passionate people that unmask the 'fakeness' that is all around. Find Truth and the world will be different, find passion and the world will be inspired, unveil fakeness and bring to life a generation that has been dead and broken. 

Hide Behind the Cross

I want to hide behind the cross......the excitement of going to Asia is still bubbling over inside me, and I cannot get over the fact that it has begun. This excitement is beginning to turn into butterflies and thoughts of what God has in store for me when I'm there. One of my very best friends brought it to reality for me, when she said, "Gabby prepare yourself, you're not going over to feed children, you're going to come face to face with Satan, so prepare." My stomach dropped when I read those words, because the excitement of something new and the adventures ahead were consuming my mind instead of the work that needed to get done. My objective is not to travel the world or to experience culture first hand....it is to get my hands dirty and do work for the Kingdom. So many times I think we forget our purpose. It's not to fit in, look good, or show the world what we can do with our money......It is to hide behind the cross. To show the world Christ before what we have, what we can do, and what we offer.  Something even as great as surrendering my life to work in Asia can become a hindrance when I decide to step in front of the cross. Excitement yes, but preparation and the knowledge that I'm going to do work was my lesson today. Nothing we are can ever be greater than the cross and it's message, so stop trying to compete with it, and surrender to its greatness.

AH!

I would like to take time to explain how awesome our God is.....I plan on being extremely vulnerable and real for a moment. I have recently been struggling with surrender, patience, and listening to what God wants for my life. It has been a daily workout and exercise of wanting to want what God wants. I have been praying that doors will open, my heart to be ready when they do, and for willingness to be instilled within. I would like to say that doors have been opened, my heart ready with passion, and willingness is overflowing. I have currently accepted a job in Southeast Asia working with a wonderful organization called Adventures in Missions. I plan to leave January 15th and return May 15th. I will be working with girls and women coming out of human trafficking and sex slavery. Thailand and Cambodia are known for its presence within the industry and so our travels will mainly consist in these countries. It is amazing how God works, never doubt His ability to be who He is. There is healing in the Father, and He will place you where He wants...it's the willingness we lack. We can fight all we want to try to convince ourselves that it was only by coincidence, but I don't believe our God works that way. Everything that happens is planned by the Father. This trip is going to be extremely hard emotional, physically, and spiritually. I am in need of much prayer for the journey ahead. This was my lesson today.......Stop talking and Start acting. Stop wanting change...and Change!

Purity

Just a thought.....but here it goes....Why do we complicate and dirty things that are meant to be so pure? Why do we make things so much more complicated then what they should be? I believe we do this because we don't want it to be easy. We want to have to fight, scrape, and till before we reach the point where we are happy. We are not happy with our lives because of decision after decision where we chose the next step instead of intently listening to hear where we should go. When I taught in the Public school system, I felt a little overwhelmed at moments when forced with paperwork and endless testing that is required. All of this leaves one without the purity that is meant in the situation. When did teaching become something besides a simple interaction between two human beings? We have taken the purity out of something that should always and forever be simple and pure. I find myself standing on this road many times to realize that my walk with Christ is the same. Something that should be so simple and pure gets clouded up with my own selfishness, laziness, and my undisciplined self. This was not meant to boggle our minds down to where we cannot see the simplicity of it all.  I want simplicity, and with this comes freedom. We do not have to fight, scrape, and till to find happiness because happiness comes in the simplicity of Christ.

Expect God to Take Care of You

I think it is funny how life can surprise you. We go through life kinda expecting the worst and then when something good happens, we are surprised. We rely on life to just happen rather than taking to heart the understanding that God has it all planned. I am reminded of this constantly because I think that I struggle with it the most. I have talked about surrender a lot on my blog and yet it stills finds its way into my everyday life. Why do I struggle so much with this concept? I was reminded yesterday of how great and awesome God is when orchestrating our lives together. I went out with a great group of girls that I love dearly last night to have some fun. We went to our favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner when simple conversation led to chess pieces moving for my life. I was recently told that my work would be closing down at the start of January for remodeling of the Clubhouse, which my not seem like a big  deal. Well, this remodeling I was told is going to take 3-4 months to finish. At first my planner self starts trying to think through about what I was going to do. I start wondering, how will I pay bills? Will unemployment money be enough? And the surrender concept that can't seem to stick in my head just floats right by. It was all about me, me, me, and what I could do to help the situation. So I began to wait and force myself to actually rely on Christ to have a hand in my future. Now as I have mentioned before, I am a planer, usually I have 2 to 3 plans, so when the first one fails I have back up. So me waiting with weeks going by was not my cup of tea. Having said all that, I start talking with one of my friends at dinner about a program which is in Southeast Asia that works with girls having been rescued out of sex slavery. This has been a huge passion and soft spot  in my heart for a while and here it is laying in my lap. I had waited and God brings it right to me on a silver platter. This program starts at the first of January and goes for about 4 months. It was as if God had put His hand on my chess piece and was moving it for me. I did not have to do anything or worry, He had taken care of it. It was funny because I honestly felt myself a little surprised and excited as if He wasn't going to take care of me. I was surprised that He already had something in mind for me. So I am currently filling out paper work and seeing where He will move me. I want God to be my author....and living open and vulnerable to Him will further our relationship with Him. Surrendering is not easy but that vulnerability to the unknown is where He calls us to be.

How do you see Christ?

How do you see Christ? A question a friend asked one day that has confirmed my purpose and decisions about my career.  This friend has always inspired, pushed, and kept me accountable to Christ and His hand in my life. But this simple question was asked in a confused situation about careers and direction of a life.  She went on to explain that Christ can be many things to different people. He can be a healer, a teacher, a radical, a preacher, a comforter, and much more. But it's how you view Christ that will lead you to what your occupation will lean towards.  Coming out of college, I attained a degree in Elementary Education, and honestly at the time I had no idea why, except for the fact that I loved children. I could not answer except for the given response of what I'm supposed to say of why I wanted to teach. Then this simple yet complicated question, came into my world.....How do you see Christ? I could answer full heartily with....a teacher. I see Christ as a teacher. Then it became clear, I knew why I wanted to teach...I knew why I wanted to have a career that is overlooked, under appreciated, and under payed......because I view Christ as a teacher. So for those of you unsure about the future and what career path to take, ask this simple question, How do you see Christ? Do not be afraid to ask questions and stir waters, that is how we find meaning and purpose.

Surrender-Obedience

Throughout these past months God has really been emphasizing this idea of surrender in my life. Now, to be completely honest...I am not good at surrendering anything. I hate to give up, I won't quit, and most of the time its more comfortable for me if I'm in control, and these are just the highlights. But for the most part surrendering my life is a hard concept for me to come face to face with. In saying all this, trying to figure out what God wants for my life becomes difficult, because I want to do what He wants, but sometimes I feel like I'm doing what I want. And then to make matters more confusing there is the part of actually figuring out what He wants for our lives.  I feel like a lot of Christians are wandering around praying that God will show them what to do. We ask God to reveal His plans in our lives, and the majority of our time is spent living passively because we were afraid we aren't going to be in His will. I have learned that if you are truly wanting and seeking after the heart of God, and you are in tune with His spirit, then just listen. Listen and open your eyes to the answers He has already given. Most of the time we already know what door we should walk through...its just the walking part we haven't done yet. We should be living active lives as followers of Christ but instead we settle for praying about what God has already shown us to do. I'm tired of being passive and watching the world not look at us any differently. Do not be afraid of walking through the door that God has told you to adventure through. You might have to go through on your own, it might not be what you expected, it could cost you friendships and respect, but being in the place where Christ wants you to be has unexplainable peace about it.  Surrender can be hard because of how we are, but when it has been given, then transformation can occur and the world will no longer look at us the same. We are the only Christ they will ever see.....and that can only happen through surrender.