Not a God to FIND praise, a God TO BE praised.

Not a God to FIND praise, a God TO BE praised.

I’m very narcissistic. I get very proud and arrogant. I love to receive praise and I even plead for praise from God.

It’s painful, because it is true and sometimes truth may taste bitter at first , but that is just the medicine part required before deeper healing can occur.  

This post is a bit different and I’m gonna give it to you pretty straight because in reality, we (I) tend to fluff things up,  make them sound pretty and nice, so be prepared. Here we go.

 

God has a purpose. A plan so big, so endearing. He is at work, in fact it is happening right now as we speak. The restoration of his kingdom. However….

Reality check numero uno:

·         It’s not actually ALL about us.

We ARE important, to a certain extent. Mercy and Grace, two words chucked around Christian circles a lot; words which encompass a small fraction of God’s character. But to be perfectly honest, in sermons and talks I find they always appear as superficial words. Words with little substance, just chucked in to paint a cool picture of God. Labels. However, what if those words contain something far more personal than what we first perceive.

Look at it like this:

·         A farmer one day decides to bring in an apprentice, someone who he’ll train up in hopes that eventually, he (the apprentice) can run the farm.

·         As the apprentice is being trained up he will often refer back to the farmer asking for his approval, double checking that what he is doing is right.

·         However, after 6-12 months on the job you’d imagine the apprentice would be pretty clued up on what to do (or at least have a general understanding of what to do).

·         However, wouldn’t it seem odd if, after 12 months of working this apprentice, continued to refer back to the farmer in the same manner he did when he was being trained up? I imagine it would really test the farmer’s patience, particularly when you consider the time taken to walk back and find the farmer. Time which could be spent working. In all honesty, I imagine the farmer’s probably thought a few times, “why don’t I just do the job myself?”

Why doesn’t he?

That my friend is mercy.

Despite the Lord having the capacity to do it (restore his kingdom on earth), he chooses us. His grace and mercy is a tangible reflection of his patience towards us. Even though we doubt and question EVERYTHING about God, he still chooses us. He still chooses to make time for us. Can you imagine how frustrating (if God was a human with limited human characteristics) that would be.

1.       This reflects exactly why God is God and we are not. WE are far too limited. So limited in our understanding of grace and mercy, that even when a God so abundantly merciful is standing right in front of us, we don’t even see it. (PS: I share this because it’s totally something God is revealing to me as well. Certainly don’t have this down pact yet, may never, nonetheless he is pulling me up on this too.)

In our western culture, it is difficult to not perceive ourselves as God. Our culture thrives off, it’s created from it; making us believe we are the most important thing out. So much so that our thinking towards death is “if we are gone what will happen in this world, ‘the world will forever be ruined.’” I reckon it’s chasing after those things, ourselves, which make us forgettable. Only the ones who chased after something beyond themselves are the ones remembered, yet even then, that in itself is insignificant.

What if….we were to live a life for Him. A life far from boring and mundane.

Want a life of remembrance; lived to its capacity?

1.       It starts with submission and surrender- realising that actually we ARE blessed. God could easily complete his plan right now if he wanted to, but he is PATIENT, teaching us and using us, mere humans, selfish beings, to reflect HIM.

2.       A radical life is understanding that there will be sacrifice and suffering. Realistically in every aspect of life these elements will pop up:

·         Sacrifice

·         Suffering

The question is whether we think God is worth making a sacrifice and suffering for. If not, then what is?

I don’t know about you, but I would much rather live each day radically, uncertain of what will happen in my day, but certain of who I live for, then live the stereotypical ‘Sunday attending church’ life.

Imagine if each of us recognised that we are a part of something significant, the picture of  ‘Christianity’ would look a little different. We ourselves aren’t the ones that define that significance, we just have the choice and opportunity to facilitate in that significance: seeing GOD (not us) be exalted. In whatever form that may be.

Just some food for thought.

PG huh?!? No silly, PGA.

PG huh?!? No silly, PGA

 

When I was younger I took golf lessons.

My dad would take my brother and I down to the local golf course every Saturday morning, where we learnt all about how to hit the ball, perfect our swing and pretend to be Tiger Woods (the golfing part…wouldn’t condone the other stuff to 5 yr olds…). One of the random ‘drills’ we had to do, was place a big smiley face sticker on the head of the club. Now, at the time, I thought the sticker was there just to look super cool, but it wasn’t until recently that I realised that that sticker actually had a purpose.

It was to identify the ‘sweet spot’.

Sweet spot?!?!

Pretty much, there is a particular point along the head (the part of the golf club you hit the ball with) which when you hit it, makes the ball project further, seemingly ‘effortlessly’. If your golf is anything like mine (with maybe 5 out of 100 shots hitting that sweet shot) you’ve probably stood at the driving range looking out over the ball, placing your hand upto shield the sun, as you ponder why you haven’t joined the PGA tour (or at least how your golden talent remains yet to be discovered.)

So we’re feeling good about ourselves! Yeah! We hit that little sucker and it just so happened a cute boy walked passed at the same time and saw the whole thing! (Dying.)

HOWEVER…

When we don’t hit it in that sweet spot:

1.       Blimey, it hurts the hands (I’m a girl, I can claim that.)

2.       To get the ball even remotely close to the other one, A LOT more effort and strength is needed.

 

Soooooooooo…

I imagine at this point you’re probably wondering where I’m heading with this…

 

Soooooooooo pretty much:

 

 Knowing who we are can be just like finding that ‘sweet spot’ in life.

 

Let me explain:

A few months ago I bumped into a guy that I went to high school with. We had a little mini catch up (as you do) then he started explaining his engineering degree to me, talking about all the complex stuff he was learning in it. As you can imagine my brain exploded (not literally, thank goodness!) How this guy could come up with a draw bridge based off numbers and variables was totally beyond me. I had to remind myself on several occasions to shut my mouth again (because I was amazed at just how smart he was.)

Anyway, when we got to town, we went and got a coffee, which is where he randomly piped up and said “Hey Aspen, this has to be the best conversation I’ve had in a while. You’re really good at communicating.” Wasn’t too hard to be honest, but “Ill receive that compliment anyway.” (I didn’t actually say that. I mean who says “I receive that any way?” Oh….you do Cindy…woops sorry.)

I guess the point I’m trying to make is, I’m not my friend that’s an engineer. He’s talented at engineering. I’m talented at talkin…..g. (Is that even a talent? I don’t know, but I’ll claim it anyway.)

 

You see when we do things we are naturally talented and gifted in, it’s like hitting that ball in the sweet spot. Sure a little work is required, but it feels effortless.

 

Now this is gonna sound pretty harsh, but all too often, it seems, we are trying to achieve things that we just aren’t naturally gifted in. Sure there are times when you’ve got to just suck it up (and work on those assignments), but if your WHOLE DEGREE or job is a drag then why carry on?

Chase after the things you enjoy and are gifted in and watch how far you, like the ball soar (yes, I did just compare you to a golf ball. You’re a lot better-looking though, in my defence). Rather than strive at doing something which we may not get as much enjoyment out of, why not recognise the areas we are talented in and strengthen those areas in our lives.

It’s easy sometimes to forget that we are each uniquely encoded with different talents and gifts. These talents are needed. You are needed and valued. What you have to offer, even if it feels minuet, is actually very important. Imagine if the guy who invented aeroplanes didn’t wake up one day (probably more like a series of trial and error) and gave up. We would never have had aeroplanes (Yes, someone else MAY have come along and designed one anyway, but that’s beyond the point). That guy was needed, because he may just have been the one to suggest inflight entertainment, and imagine how horrible that would have been without that! (*cough* Jetstar *cough*)

At the end of the day, you’re important. The things you have, talents you possess are valued and needed in this big bad (not bad all the time) world.

 

Cool beans. Just a thought. 

 Peace and blessings y’all.

Valued.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NNUccxnwyw&feature=youtu.be

               "Your value doesn't   decrease based on someone's inability to see your worth."

Why am I so fat?!?

“Why am I so fat?!?”

“It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.”                                                                                                - Matthew 15:11

Ouch. That’s a bit harsh. Actually on second thought…there is a bit of truth to that. I mean think about it, we are fed thousands of different messages, ideologies and opinions every day, but somehow our brain filters through it all and withholds a certain, selective amount of it.

Which begs to differ, are we filtering out the right stuff? I mean how do we choose what to retain and what not too? Is it based on feeling or emotion, or is it something else? (whoa a lot of pondering already and I’m not even into the second page yet… haha)

Recently these have been a few things that have been at the forefront of my thinking, “Why am I thinking like this?”, “Why do I believe everything my mind tells me?” “Whoever said I couldn’t be an international cyclist (especially because of a gap in the industry, with the whole Lance Armstrong ordeal.) Okay, maybe not an international cyclist, but do you get what I mean, who was that told us we weren’t good enough.

I’m gonna go out on a limb and say maybe it has something to do with what we fill ourselves with, and is not based solely on our circumstances (past or present). I’ll use this blog as the prime example of what I mean.

Okay, so as many of you may know this blog got a bit of recognition as a relationship blog (probably because that’s what I said it was to everyone, and was,) which was awesome, because:

1)      I love talking about relationships and giving advice.

2)      It meant I could research more into the dynamics and differences between male and female.

3)      I could talk to people about the most taboo subjects, which often caused a bit of awkwardness, in an easy conversational way.

Sweet. Well kind of…

It was all good for the first bit, but after a while ‘relationships’ started to become the thing at the forefront of my thinking (not so sweet.) I would read up about it, watch videos, read other blogs, and like a sponge I would absorb it all; completely unaware of the subliminal affect it was having on my own life and friendships/relationships.

Look at it like this: “Our beliefs define our thoughts; thoughts are reflected in our actions; actions become habits, which become our characteristics, to form our identity.” By filling myself with excessive amounts of information about ‘relationships’ it caused my beliefs to change from, “Hey, I’m all good with being single,” to “Hey I now understand how the male mind works so it means I can manipulate it to get exactly what I want” (cruel, but very true). And to be quite frank, I hated it. I hated the person I was becoming, but I didn’t know what to do about it. It wasn’t until a friend kindly pulled me up and brought it to my attention, did I realise what was happening.

Another way to look at it is like eating food; the things we listen to, watch and learn, feed us (haha this is starting to sound like some weird new agey thing… but bear with me.) They feed our thoughts and shape the way we perceive things, which is why what I ‘feed’ myself is so important because it will become a by-product in my life.

 If I am against the exploitation of women in the sex industry, then why the hell am I listening to hip hop artists who use them and then write songs that desensitise and normalise the reality. If I want better self-worth, then why do I continue to read trashy magazines that leave me feeling worse about myself? Why?

It’s because I have a need. We have needs. But it’s not the need that’s the problem; it’s how we choose to fulfil that need, which once again, comes back to what we fill ourselves with. I am guilty as charged when it comes to this. I complain about becoming a judging, bitter person and yet I continue to watch shows and listen to music that sings about exactly that: bitterness, anger and judgement. All concealed within the façade of a catchy tune and hot actors (that’s why it’s so hard to stop listening and watching :O).

So can I challenge us (I’m included in this one) with something. What kind of person do we want to be? If we were to look back at the end of our lives, who would we be remembered as?

We can be that person and it starts by changing what we allow ourselves to be surrounded by. It’s not simple or easy, but comes from discipline, which requires more strength than remaining in the current situation and saying “it’s okay this won’t affect me.”

(By the way, it doesn’t mean that we never listen/watch stuff that we deem “trash”, it just means we are more weary/cautious of how much we consume.)

“It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.”                                                                                                - Matthew 15:11

 Peace and blessings y’all, peace and blessings! (Haha love that chick!)