to lay one's life down

"Greater Love hath no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friend" John 15:30

source

I hope we all remember the importance of living one's life for others and not for ourselves. 

Today is a great reminder of how you can do that with the skills you are given. On September 11, all of those who had trained skills jumped in and helped whomever they could. But you don't have to be a firefighter or police officer to impact someone's life for good. God calls us to minister wherever we are placed. Every believer can make an impact for the Kingdom of God.

September 11 is also a good reminder that our goal as believers is to "attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God" (Ephesians 4:13a). We are called to be unified in Christ. To love one another and spread the news of the saving grace of Jesus. To work together despite our differences. I wish there weren't disputes among the denominations that exist today. On days like today its easier to put aside our disputes and remember what is really important. I pray that we remember the saving truths taught in Scripture: of the love of Jesus, the power of His grace, and our need to die to self and follow His example. 

Lets serve Him today.

my dream

If you are a part of my family you know that I have really weird dreams...really weird. Not every night, but pretty often. So in last night's dream I don't remember a lot of things, but I do remember 3 things and I thought I would share them because I think they are totally random.

1) I was getting married (ok so this isn't that random...but read the next two)

2) It was in the middle of the rehearsal dinner and I was ushered away to have my makeup done...for the next day. Because all brides have their makeup done up the night before they wedding right? That makes perfect sense.

3) My only bridesmaid (where were my sisters???) was Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge.

I am amazed at my imagination. That's all I have to say.

What relief

I keep a prayer journal. When I was little I had a regular diary, but by the time I reached high school, it didn't feel like enough to write "dear diary." So I decided, who better to write to than to my Heavenly Father who is listening and watching anyway? I've kept one now for at least 5 or 6 years, but lately I haven't written in it regularly. I wish I took time every day because it gives me so much peace to write down my worries and thoughts and know that they are safely in the Lord's capable hands. There is just something about actually writing one's thoughts on paper. Praying out loud or in my head just isn't the same for me; sometimes I need the act of physically writing to feel like I am actually communicating what I want and can finally feel free of worry for a little while.

Today is September 9th. The last time I wrote in my prayer journal was August 4th. Yes I've been praying, but I haven't taken the time to write...and it was showing in my life. You may not understand it, but for me (who is a worrier), if I don't write it out, it stays with me and I feel more stressed than I need to, I have nightmares, I sleep badly, I feel behind in life, and my focus becomes about me instead of about my Heavenly Father's will through me. It's just one of those things for me. And its so simple...but I haven't made the time lately. Isn't that silly? I've known all along what I've needed to do, but for whatever reason I told myself that it wasn't what I needed.

So today I forced myself to sit down with my hillsong pandora station playing in the background, and I wrote down my prayers. What relief! I feel so much better already. I feel renewed and refreshed. The Lord really does meet you when you make time for Him.

I start school in a couple of weeks and I don't want to start this school year feeling behind in my life. My goal is to make some time every single day to write out my prayers to my Heavenly Father.

And whoever you are who's reading this...I pray that you find whatever that thing is for you to feel renewed and once again ready to tackle this thing called life. We all need encouragement. We all need a listening ear. Speak to your Heavenly Father. He listens and He will answer in His time.

The part where I don't know

This is the part where I realize that I haven't blogged in months and I don't know how to gracefully get back into it and so I'm just going to get right back into it! I hope that's ok with you.

I want to confess something (no this isn't going to be something super deep...as far as I know). But I have this problem. I have so many thoughts that get jumbled up in my head and I want to get them out, but then when I sit down to write about them or when I think about sitting down to write about them, I panic because I want it to make sense but I know that it probably won't. And I'm a perfectionist. And the thing about blog posts is that to run smoothly they usually have to only have one topic. But I'm not that way. So, whatever ends up on this blog from now on may not be the most beautifully expressed piece of literature you'll ever read, but it will be my thoughts on whatever I choose to think and write about. So if you care to keep reading...be my guest, but you have been warned.

Oh and another thing: I always say that I'm going to take pictures of the stuff I do so that I can write about it and have a little visual stimulation to accompany it, but I haven't been so good at that either. So I'm going to try again.

And what perfect timing to "try again" seeing as I'm about to go back to nursing school! I always feel that fall is a time to reorganize, re-prioritize, and re-get-back-into-a-schedule (I just made up that word).

I love fall. I'm looking forward to it. I hope that it gets cooler soon so I can start wearing sweaters and scarves and boots. I like the rhythm of my life in the fall. The winter is always crazy busy and intense, but the fall prepares me for it somehow. So, this is what I have to say to my second year of nursing school: Bring it on. I'm ready to dive back in and see how much I forgot over the summer. I'm ready to see my nursing school friends who I've missed. I'm ready to move forward and see what the Lord wants for me this school year. I'm ready.

Bring it on.