So said Ryan Hayden at UCC this last Sunday! It was so great. It was a wonderful sermon, as always, but that little phrase was what really stuck with me. Sometimes we get so caught up in worrying about what other people are doing and if they are living their lives right that we stop keeping up with ourselves. Instead, we (okay, I...I tend to talk in "we's" when I start talking about myself and my hang-ups in hopes that they are someone elses, too!) need to stop being stagnant and standing still and start walking with the Lord! Walking the walk, talking the talk, and living a life that shows people Christ's love for all of us and how he brings about a huge change in the heart and soul and mind of a person who has accepted Him into their life! (My grammar, run-on sentences in particular, gets a little rough when I get excited like this. I don't really go through and proofread my blogs because I don't feel like I need to. So don't hate!) Discipleship has always been difficult for me to do, so to make up for it I have at least tried to constantly live a life that reflects Christ. I hope I'm doing a good job! I don't think that was the point of Ryan's message, but I think it's okay if it leads us to thinking about ourselves and our personal walk with the Lord.
Also! I felt something at church this weekend that was both exciting and convicting. When worship started, I just wanted them to hurry up and get done so that we could get to the preachin'! I love worship and I love our praise band, but I was really just hungry or something to learn something! The exciting part was how much I felt the pull on my heart to hear, listen, and learn. The convicting part was that I couldn't remember feeling like that before. Even worse, sometimes I didn't even want worship to end because it was my favorite part and sometimes the message just got in the way. I hope I continue being excited for the message...I know I could use more time in the Word. During communion time I prayed for several things, and thanked God for many things, as usual, but I also thanked Him for letting me feel that hunger, that fire, to learn about Him. I ask that you put me and that fire in your prayers, too! We all need a little help! (There I go with the "we" again!)
This just in! My English content exam scores are in...and I think I did pretty stellar! Out of 200 possible points, I got 191! I was pretty worried about it, actually, and whaddayaknow...I did above average!! I don't usually toot my own horn, but...*toot toot*!! Now I can apply for my KS license and then my TX license and I can start really applying for jobs! I won't lie, I'm pretty terrified about finding a job. It seems like all I hear about is education budget cuts and teachers losing their jobs. How am I supposed to get a job when teachers can't even keep the ones they have? And its not like they're only firing crappy teachers...they're firing good ones. My Mammy's niece was told, all in the same day, that they were not going to renew her contract and that she had won New Teacher of the Year award. I'm sorry, but WHAAAAT?! That doesn't even make sense to me. So, needless to say, worried and scared. This is when I refer back to my last blog about worrying, haha.
By the way, if you have read my blog before then you know it didn't look like this last time...is it pretty? I can't decide. Thanks :)
Okay, well, that's it from me. I don't have anything cute to end with...so there! Yeah, Swan Lake! (Despicable Me quote people, come on!) Ciao!
the new look is fab!
ReplyDeleteand such an exciting post!
Taren,
ReplyDeleteI came upon your blog while browsing around in the vast internet, and have to say, I couldn’t have found it at a better time. It is so nice to see that there are people out there our age devoted to staying on the right path! It is not often that young college students display a dedication to purity and the Lord. I have been through some rough times in the past, and have been struggling with finding myself. I have recently come back to the church after these trying times with the help of some friends, but I still am working through the complications of life. As such, I still have a lot of questions about the faith. Perhaps you could help me with some of these? It is always nice to talk to someone closer to your age who can relate. But through it all though, I have realized as you said that it is through our personal walk with the Lord that we will overcome our obstacles. When we start to focus on our relationship with him and stop worrying about what others are doing, we can truly start to live a pure life.
On a side note, I am also an English education student! The job climate for our area is becoming scarier and scarier; already schools across the nation are taking away positions from very adequate teachers. It is hard to have hope in a world where our jobs and futures are being slowly taken away. But it sounds like you have the right kind of scores to be successful in the future, and with faith, of course, I’m sure you will do fine.
Anyway, think we could chat more about this? I would love to keep talking with you about the nuances of a few things and maybe resolve some questions I have. Keep up the inspirational work.
Maya
Maya--Thank you for the kind words! I would love to talk more with you :) My email address is taren.johnson@gmail.com; email me anytime you need! Hope to hear from you soon!
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