It's over this year, but never really over.

It's hard for me to believe that Christmas is already over! The anticipation, the purchasing, the wrapping, and the espionage are over. The gifts have been opened and most of the food eaten. While it's sad that the holiday of Christmas is over, but (i know it's corny) the spirit of Christmas should continue. I don't necessarily mean the generosity and kindness, thought those things are not bad at all, I mean the attitude of worship towards Christ that Christians should have during the holidays. Church attendance goes up around Christmas time, and we should most definitely take the opportunity to share the Gospel with these people. What I mean is that we should live remembering the birth of Christ every single day. The birth of Christ is the foundation of the Gospel, not just the beginning of an uplifting story to tell at Christmas time. We should live everyday proclaiming the birth of Christ! (And I'm sure if you want to give out gifts, no one will oppose you.) So preach the Gospel, starting with the virgin birth, and remember Christ's sacrifice began with His departure from heaven.

The Strength of Love

Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very  flame of the LORD. Many waters cannot quench love,  neither can floods drown it. ~ Song of Songs 8:6-7

Before I left school for Christmas break, my roommate and I had a great discussion about the above verse and God's love for us. We talked about how we, as girls, struggle with insecurity and feeling unloved. Feelings of unworthiness can enter our minds easily, but they're hard to get rid of. In a way, feeling unworthy isn't a bad thing. We are so unworthy of God's love and we couldn't ever do anything to deserve it, but that's where the beauty of this verse comes in. God loves me despite everything else and His love is intense. I didn't do anything to deserve this love, but God freely gives it. Why is it so hard for me to accept a free gift sometimes? I don't think I can answer that fully, but I do know this: God's love for me is stronger and deeper than any feelings of insecurity will ever be. In The Message's translation of this verse it says: "Passion laughs at the terrors of hell." Go back and read that quote again. How awesome is that? I read in the Bible of how awful hell is, but God's passion for me LAUGHS at hell. Laughs! God's not worried about anything Satan can do because his passion is all-consuming and all-powerful. He can overcome anything, so He laughs at Satan's attempts to control people with fear. God has me in His hands, I am safer there than anywhere else! So, when those feelings inevitably arise again, I'll go to this verse and remind myself of God's undying passion for me that is not dependent on anything I can do. And when I think on that, how can I help but be satisfied in Him?

It's finally done!

As hard as it is believe, I am officially done with my first semester of college! It doesn't seem possible! The semester truly flew. I have lived on my own for over three months now and I've survived. I made good grades and some really great friends. College is turning out to be such a fun experience for me, though it's not without it's share of hard work. I don't think I've ever studied as much in my entire school career as I did during my last week of school. I did not pull any all-nighters, but I definitely hit the books hard! As I leave this semester and head into the Christmas season, I look back on God's faithfulness to me in these past few months alone. He is truly a great God!

He lead me to go to NGU in the first place, He provided the money for the semester and my car. He provided me with an awesome roommate and amazing suitemates. He gave me the courage to meet new people and befriend them and blessed me with others who befriended me when I wasn't expecting it. He blessed me with a work study to help with my tuition bill and with the stamina to get all of my work done on time. He gave me clarity of mind on all of my tests and creativity for all of my papers. Without God, I am truly nothing and I would have undoubtedly have failed at every endeavor this semester. He has truly blessed me beyond what I could have asked for or desired, and for that I am truly, unbelievably thankful.

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21