Job...

Job.

I'm not talking about a way of making money. I'm talking about Job, the guy in the Bible that went through completely and utter poop. I really don't know a lot of what happens in Job's life after the first few chapters. I stopped reading it because I couldn't handle how much he had to deal with. I can't even imagine what I would have done if I was his neighbor or even if I was his wife. 

Just as a side note. I just did the most acrobatic move to lean over my bed and reach for my Bible off my desk. I'm pretty impressed with my flexibility. 

So let's open up this holy book up and see what's going on...

If we look at Job 2:9 you hear a very strange quote from his wife. "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!" Part of me thinks that I might have reacted this way. It's the thing that all people tell you. People will bring you down faster than you can bring them up. My heart is a weird place in my life. I knew that some people were bad influences on, but I just couldn't step away. I felt like I was supposed to stay with them and show them God's love. Or is that really what I was thinking? Show them God's love? Help them understand God's will for them? NO. It wasn't that at all. I wanted to fix them. I wanted to be their personal savior, to bad I didn't realize that at the time. Hindsight is 20/20! 

So what is our job as not only Christians, but influences and most importantly, friends. Do we leave when things get bad? I really want to believe that we are supposed to be there for the people that don't know Christ. Isn't that what Jesus did? 

I've got to be honest with you. God just surprised me. I was looking up a particular scripture and discovered a new one. It's called "The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids." (Matthew 25: 1-13) In a nutshell, Jesus is telling people about his return and that we should be prepared for when it comes. There was five brides that brought extra oil, and then five foolish brides that did not. When the grooms came, they left to get more oil and lost their chance of seeing the grooms. The scripture ended with, "So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return." 

Yes, we need to live prepared for Jesus to come. What all does that entail? Let's keep reading this scripture.. going down to verse 34.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’"

It's almost like we forget this. I'm just as guilty as anyone else in this world. Again, it's easy to ignore the "bad influences" so we won't get dragged down, but would there be any bad influences if we wore the armor of God and continued to do what that exact scripture says? We are automatically letting those bad influences defeat us when we ignore them. 

Where did Job's wife go when she left? What would have happened if she would have stayed? She would have been in an environment of praise for everything good and bad.  Sometimes it takes standing in the "rain" for us to learn how to praise God. Even if that means discovering what is making it rain for your acquaintances. Praying for God's will to happen and visiting those who are trapped in their personal prisons is something we should all be doing. Meeting them at their level doesn't mean changing our morals or attitude, it means allowing them to see God in a way that allows them to take the first step. 

No, it will not happen on day one of prayer because we are ultimately wanting God's will, not our view of how they should live. 

By the way... You can comment on here. Nothing is stopping you! Spice it up, ask questions, make me do some more digging in my Bible! I want to learn new things!
 

Peeking over the Coral...

Whew! It's been an INCREDIBLE week and even more incredible day! 

I got to see P!NK in concert on Sunday night, which was amazing! I've never seen some so amazing before! That depression slump that I've been stuck in for the past few months has completely been lifted off of my shoulders. I can't have anything weighing me down anymore!

So let me tell you about this concert... The dancing? Great! Sometime raunchy, but the guys were cute! Haha! The singing? Uhhh.... Put it this way, I run out of breath singing in the shower! I have no idea how she did that!! She was hanging from things, spinning in the air and flying across the arena! Yeah, I was in heaven. This shows how dork I am, but I was watching the Technical Director a majority of the time... Let's just say, I know what I'm going to do with my life! That was awesome! 

In my last blog I told you that I was writing a book, welllll... I finished it this weekend! I'm sending it in for proofing and publishing soon! You'll be able to buy it and help me fund another writing project! (and my college tuition!)

The book is called, "God Knows What Sex Feels Like." I know, how in the world does this have anything to do with being Christian? It sounds bad, but in all actuality, it was pretty healthy for me! The title of this book came from the comedic minds of my best friends, Anna Dean and Sarah Valentine. When school started, I was really going through hardcore depression trying to figure out a lot of things about my personality. I was in my room with Anna and Sarah crying my eyes out with no clue of how to deal with life. I kept saying, "I just want to be really upset at God. Does He even understand how much this hurts?!" To which Sarah replied, "Becca, God knows what sex feels like." 

Wow. I was taken aback with amazement. The most intimate thing on our Earth, the taboo word of most churches, the strongest force of the human race... God not only knows what it feels like.. He created it!! Is that a little weird to think about? 

My book is a small devotional based off of my eight goals for a Christian lifestyle. I started out with twenty, but my pastor from back home reminded me that trying to keep up with all of those things would be an even bigger weight on my shoulders!

Writing this book was the most therapeutic thing that I've ever experienced! I've never been so happy before! I'm finally standing up for myself and what I believe. The shy little girl that let everyone control her is gone. God gave me free-will to experience life, passion, beauty, trials, love and make mistakes. As long as I keep my eye on the prize and keep my life in line with his will, everything will be incredible! 

The next thing that my friends taught me was to "peek over the coral." For the past three months, I really haven't wanted to move on. I knew that if I did, I would be a lot healthier, but I wasn't ready. Sarah told me to take baby steps and tear up things one at a time. Shortly after this speech, she tore a letter that was hanging on my wall. It freaked me out then, but now? I'm pretty content with my life! Actually, swimming into the big open sea has given me so many reasons to be happy! 

Depression will always be something that I have to deal with, but right now... I'm pretty sure I've defeated it. 

Thanks for your prayers!

Big News!

Guess what? I've got big news! Can you believe it? Of course you are dying to hear what this news is! Well... are you ready? I'm writing a book! Actually, a better way to phrase this is.. I'm completing a book! A little bit after school started, I was given the idea by a friend to write a book. It's really been helping me discover a lot of things and delve into scripture!

I'm not going tell you many details, I've only told a couple of people what it's about! After I have a few people read it over, I'm going to try to release it in some form or fashion. This might be really dorky, but I hope to use some of my birthday money to publish it. It might not be the best book in the world, but I think that it will allow other people to think in ways they've never thought before. 

I'm going to keep this blog short tonight considering that I have a class in eight hours! 

Here's to a busy week! 

Becca

Happy Happy Happy...

No, I am not referencing Duck Dynasty... I am in fact HAPPY! 

It's been a long haul to get to Fall Break, but I made it! And all in one piece! It was my first time to go home since coming to school and I was so thrilled! It was nice to sit on my couch and do absolutely nothing.

I got to see a lot of my church family while I was in town. I managed to catch a stray dog and find a family for her! It's always an adventure when I go home!

I did learn a few things while I was home though. It was a good weekend of letting go and letting God take control of the situation. Last week I went to the doctor because I was physically unable to function without sleeping through the day. It was extremely inconvenient. I was so tired of being tired and upset all the time. Ended up that I've been dealing with depression. 

I'm not going to say that my problems are worse than your problems, but it's something that I deal with in my brain. Yes, a lot of things have happened recently to make it worse, but besides that, I'm a normal person just like you. I just have a trigger in my brain that doesn't work properly. I got some good medication to help me as well as a good support system. The past few days of starting this medication, I have seen an incredible difference! 

The hardest things I've been dealing with is Jason Molitor's death. He was such a great man and I can't think of any better way to honor his life than to live out what he taught. I will start by practicing the fruits of the spirit since that is how he lived. Jason was full of love, he always was putting others before himself. He could make you laugh at your own jokes even when you knew they weren’t funny. If you needed a place to cry, he would sit there and give you his shoulder – no words were needed, it was a pure place of peace. Patience must have been his middle name, I never saw him running around in a panic, he knew who was in control and it wasn’t him, it was God. Jason always did acts of random kindness. If he noticed something out of place, he would offer a hand and always a prayer to get things back on track. To live life that happy he must have been grateful! It’s almost like he never wasted a moment when it came to living God’s will. The way he treated his family was with gentleness. He knew the art of being a father and a husband and it was by keeping God in the center of his home. The gentle spirit of God lived in him and he lived it out in his daily life. Even when someone tested his limits, he always extended love. I just think back to the days when his daughters were young. He would hold them in his arms for the whole church service, kiss their forehead and sing with them. With all the work that he did I can’t imagine the stress he had to deal with, but you could never tell. It wasn’t that he held it all in, but he had self-control. He put his energy into doing good things for others. Jason was good, full of these fruits and more. 

It would be a shame to water down my life and become mad at God for taking him away, that wouldn’t do me any good. Jason left a legacy and even though his life was short, he taught me in a tangible way how to be a follower of Jesus Christ. What will I do in my life to show God I was grateful for Jason? I will live with Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gratefulness, and Self-Control! (Galatians 5:22-23)

Before I sign off I want to ask a favor of you all. One of my very good friends is going through something that I believe is one of the toughest things a girl can deal with. Please lift her up in your prayers that she might take the time to heal and understand that God's will has a point! 

UOI,
Becca