My God is Big 6.16.16 Europe

My Father is big enough, so that no matter what we do, we can glorify Him. He's in every inch of our thoughts and actions. So we can glorify him in our attitude, thoughts, and in everything that we do. Corinthians 10:31. Inspirations from drinking good beer in Munich, I am able to enjoy without guilt, I praise him for the blessing. Every gift can be used in the wrong way. The giftor or gift is not the problem, it's your motive and attitude.

The Danger of Vacationing 6.14.16 Europe

The danger of vacationing is that the focus is solely on you. The purpose is to find rest by removing yourself from the stress of the world. However, as Christians we believe that this life is not about us. So when it comes to holidays, we find ourselves being in th center of focus, when really, it's God whose in the center. The two conflicting ideas emerge and create tension. We need to believe that finding rest and vacationing is good, but we cannot let it define our even for a few weeks, or a weekend. We do not ever vacation from being a Christian.

Forget the Past and Move On? 6.13.16 Europe

Give Glory to God Always. That's our purpose. Through the good and the bad, that's who we are. Worshippers. We move on, not dwelling on the bad, but learning from it. We are taught to focus on the good, but in times of our reflection, should we sweep the bad under the rug and cope with displeasure by outweighing with the good? Or simply by ignoring? Being optimistic is different than being grateful. We acknowledge the bad also and still give praise to the one that deserves. If we get in a habit of just simply trying to forget the bad, we may miss something God may be trying to communicate to us. When something bad happens, we cope by worship and we learn from them. Also bad events may act as agents to realize our spiritual conditions. 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 says the fire will test the quality of each man's work. Only through the fire and trials we are able to see if Jesus indeed is truly our Lord and apply what we have learned. Every storm is an opportunity to give glory to God.

-learn from the bad, give praise in every storm, dwell in his blessings and move onward to give glory to Him.

It Was Never Mine 6.6.16 Europe

Mother Tersea once said, "It was never mine to begin with, so love them anyway". Throughout my Eurotrip I keep running into the issue of spending money and feeling ill. Maybe not necessarily because I feel like I'm being a poor steward of his money, but because I feel like I'm losing something of my own. It's important to keep my heart in check. It's not mine to begin with and He's a dad who is willing to give me so much more if and when I do run out. He has so much of money... He is the definition of eternity.

Hiding My Identity

When I'm outside having social conversations with friends, I am not myself. If I had the lead in the course of our conversations, I would desire to talk about Jesus working in my life. However, not too many people like to. It's something that I celebrate, but at the expense of the mood, I choose not to. I cower and I hide.
This is my identity, this is who I am. This is what I love conversing about. This brings me joy. So I have to hide all the time about who I am and who Jesus is to me.

Something About the Smell

There is something special about the smell of outdoors. The grass in the sun, wood burning in the fire... its ability to bring back memories without much strife, to recollect fond memories of the past, is fascinating. Today while I was doing my devotionals, I sat there in the backyard just reminiscing the good memories that I had because of this one familiar smell of the grass that I recalled. The memories from my youth soccer leagues, to college summer days, to the times that I spent under the avocado trees in New Zealand, all flowed into my head so easily.
These memories are so pleasant and I am grateful that I have had these times, but I realize that these are times from the past. Something I cannot get back permanently. However, we serve a God that is constant. Who is encompassing of the past, present, and future. I realize that it was the same God who was with me during my soccer games, cheering me on even in my oblivious phase in college, and pouring His heart out to me during my precious encounters with Him at DTS. I am truly blessed to serve Him who was with me from the past and forever will be in my future.