A Call to Obey, even if it Sucks...

I have been reading a little bit in Song of Songs, which can be somewhat depressing for a single gal. It can leave me longing for a relationship that has depth & passion. But if I read Song of Songs as a love letter from the Lord (which I am aware that does sound "Christian cheesy") BUT it really does speak of the song of HIS heart for us! Because His love for us is so grand how can we not respond & obey His commands. It is hard because being obedient may come with a price. More often than not being obedient means suffering. Jesus never says if we obey we will have special privileges. Scripture actually shows us it is quite the opposite. The oh so wise Mother Teresa once said to God, "When I see how You treat Your friends, I'm not surprised that You have so few!" But even through persecution Jesus promises that He will always be with us.

God's call to obedience is rooted in grand love. Our response depends on how well we know & understand that love for us. Sometimes I fear to obey because I don't know how to respond to such a passionate love, I don't know where He is leading me, and His call leads me to embrace suffering. But what I know for sure is that "my lover is mine & I am His" -Song of Songs 6:3. And because of that Truth I can take a big breath, press on, and even laugh.

Dream or Love?

"The person who loves the dream of community will destroy community, even if their intentions are earnest, but the person who loves those around them will create community"
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

So the point is, to get the dream you must start with loving each other. It sounds too simple, but in reality can be really difficult. Being connected to each other is what we were created to do. So if we live with that purpose I really think God will surprise us with a community that is better than our own imagination. What an amazing gift?

Living within the belonging...

A fantastic friend of mine reminded me of a very real Truth today,

"You belong to the God who made you & loves you like crazy, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it."

Believing this will change your life.

So you better to hang on to Jesus and get ready for the wild ride.

Great Love

"We can do not great things, only small things with great love. It is not how much you do but how much love you put into doing it."

-Mother Teresa

What a wonderful way to look at life.

I'm scared to ask...

Two guys are talking to each other, and one of them says he has a question for God. He wants to ask why God allows all of this poverty and war and suffering to exist in the world. And his friend says, "Well, why don't you ask?" The fellow shakes his head and says he is scared. When his friend asks why, he mutters, "I'm scared God will ask me the same question." Over and over, when I ask God why all of these injustices are allowed to exist in the world, I can feel the Spirit whisper to me, "You tell me why we allow this to happen. You are my body, my hands, my feet."

We do indeed have a God of resurrection, a God who can create beauty from the messes we make of our world.

This is an excerpt from the book, The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. Read it! It will challenge you to truly live life like Christ.

Extending Mercy

Last weekend I had an amazing experience with the CHBC Young Adults/College Encounter. I attended an event title "Feed the Homeless". The idea behind the event was not to end poverty in Durham/Chapel Hill but simply extend mercy to those in need (I think we are all in need of mercy, but our focus was on the homeless).

I went to Ninth St. in Durham with a team of six. None of us knew what to expect and I was certainly alittle nervous about the whole idea of encountering homeless. But we just prayed that the Lord would lead us, show up, and make it clear where we needed to extend mercy. Within minutes of praying we meet three "traveling street kids". Basically these kids left their homes and now hop freight trains to travel the country, they sleep on the streets and get food wherever they can. I was shocked, there is a whole community of kids around the country that do this. We ended up taking these guys to eat dinner and than spent the next hour simply hanging out with them on Ninth St.

Here are two things that I cannot get out of my head when I think about these kids.

1-People long to belong to a community. To leave your home and to choose this lifestyle, leads me to believe they must have felt like an outsider or outcast at home and this is the better option, they have found friendship & companionship with each other. They really do depend on each other for survival.

2-Jesus sees these kids as treasures. Why do I so often walk by and not see them at all?

Please pray for Crash, Fish, & Carrot. Pray that they find their identity in Christ alone, pray that they feel loved, pray that they are accepted, pray for their safety, & pray for their families.

My Playground

I really think that when God decided to create the beach He said to Himself, "Julie is going to love this place!" I mean, I didn't quote that from Genesis but I really do believe that God is that personal. I love...sitting by the water with a book in hand or a friend by my side, the wind that is blowing my hair crazy (and not caring one bit about it), floating on my back with my feet high in the air, the sun shining on my face or that one little cloud that covers the sun and cools me off, playing sand games and feeling like a kid, the millions of freckles that pop out when lying on the beach , and walking on the beach with water running between my toes. God was so creative and for that I am thankful.

Everybody needs a little banjo...

I have been a fan of The Avett Brothers for along time but tonight they are like crack I cannot stop, I just keep hittin' repeat on a few songs.

There is something glorious about hearing great music that fits exactly the mood you are in.

I am really wishing I was good at reading and listening to music at the same time.

The journey continues...

I have fought blogging for a long time because I don't like the idea of people reading this and putting labels on me. I constantly fight so many of the labels the world gives me. I also struggle with being a people-pleaser so my fear was that I would start blogging to make myself appear hip or cool or whatever the kids are saying these days. But the reality is I truly want people to see me for who I really am. I, like you, was created by our amazing God. The Lord would be crushed to know that I was not pleased with the way He designed me. So I am learning to delight in that design and live in the freedom of being who God says I am. Unique. Beloved. My daughter.

With all of that being said, here is my blog. I am sure it will be filled with random stories, soulful songs, Christ's love, & stupid things I cannot help but do. This is all part of the journey of just being me...