Monday, August 15, 2011

Heaven On Earth

Many times in my life I have wished that I was in Heaven rather than Earth. Don't take that the wrong way, I am in no way suicidal, but sometimes when stress starts to way on me I just think about how much better Heaven has to be than this world. But this Sunday I realized something...

Doug asked us a question that I thought was really cool, "If Heaven were perfect in every way but God wasn't there, do you think you would be happy?" (or something along those lines). As I thought about that question I realized that the thing that really makes Heaven perfect is God's presence and God calls us to have a relationship with Him here on Earth so... why should I wish for Heaven so much if the best part of it can be experienced here on Earth. Obviously the experience of God in Heaven is going to be much better considering we will actually physically see Him which in itself is perfectly awesome. And also obviously just because God is with us here doesn't mean that the stress of life or troubles of the world will just go away, but the point is that I should stop dwelling on the thought that I want to be in Heaven and start dwelling on two other thoughts: how can I build up a relationship with God so I can experience Heaven on Earth and how am I going to follow God in the years until I finally go to Heaven?


Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Weird Moods

So I know I said I wouldn't post anything that was pointless but... who cares?

Right now I am in a weird mood. Weird moods are absolutely great. They make me feel spunky and funny. I will practically laugh at anything. The unfortunate thing is that most weird moods come when there is no one around me! This is saddening. I would love to go to Steak n' Shake Half Price Happy Hour, but I can't drive and all my friends are either sleepyheads, 8 hours away, or can't drive themselves either. This is very unfortunate. Nothing is more sad than an unsatisfied weird mood moment. But oh well. Maybe some other day.

Monday, August 8, 2011

Changes=Stress

Well within the next two weeks there are going to be a lot of different things going on.

1.) Dave is going to college:
Dave and I have an awesome friendship and I am going to miss him so much when he is at college. But I am proud of him and excited for him about the new life he is about to start. He is going to pharmacy school at Butler for those of you that don't know. I'm excited to see what God is going to be doing with him there and after that, but in all honesty, I am also going to miss bro time. And this makes me sad.

2.) School starts next week:
I have like three different opinions about this. One I am happy to be seeing friends again. Two I am excited and nervous to see how God is going to use me, my prayer group, and FCA at school this year. And three, I don't want to do schoolwork... like at all.

3.) The 7th graders have come to Chi Alpha:
This is exciting! But stressful because I really want them to feel welcome. Also, since I help with Junior High Bible Study, there is also some stress there but I am also looking forward to it!

4.) Jobs
I need to start looking for jobs... and honestly I just don't want to work.

So ya. Those are all the exciting, sad, nerve racking, and boring changes that are happening in my life right now. This blog probably wasn't interesting but I just felt like doing one because I haven't in a while.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Spiritual Struggles

So right now i'm pretty much just going to be venting sooo... if you want to leave now I understand haha.

Right now I've been struggling with God's Word a bit. I have been consistently reading it but I rarely retain anything I get out of it. This is due to, or at least largely due to, the fact that all I seem to see in the Bible are things that I am doing wrong. I can read one chapter of the Bible and learn 10 different sins that I struggle with and that overwhelms me. I'm kinda just left with the thought, "ok so God told me all the things wrong with me, but not how to fix them" and then I kind of give up. But I don't want to give up anymore. I've come to learn that these sin issues are affecting the way I act around people. Being one of the older guys in Chi Alpha, I need to be an example and I'm certainly not doing that right now, and I certainly need to get my act together before the new seventh graders come in this Sunday.

So if you didn't understand that very scatterbrained paragraph above, essentially two problems have arisen: I struggle with enjoying reading the Bible and I need to set a better example.

As far as the first problem goes I only have one solution for so far: look for things other than whats wrong with me in the Bible. It is good to learn about your problems don't get me wrong, but in the mean while I am missing out on a bunch of other stuff God is trying to teach me.

And as far as the example part goes... I'm honestly not sure. I know I need to keep reading the Bible, keep asking God for guidance, and keep a careful watch on myself throughout the day, but it seems like there needs to be something else. I want to change the problem not just from the outside but the inside. Every sin is a heart issue not an action issue. Your actions reflect your heart. But how do I change my heart? I know I need to give my heart and these issues over to God, but what does that truly mean? I dunno. I'm just a bit lost right now honestly.

Anyways, if you understood any of that at all, I thank you for listening. Please pray for me and let me know if there is anything I can pray for you about!