raised from the dead

“In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.”  Colossians 2:11-12

wow.

I had to read these two verses over multiple times to let the gravity of what Paul is saying sink in to my soul. so read it again with me.

“In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.”  Colossians 2:11-12

The two verses before these are equally as powerful:

“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity live in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.” Colossians 2:9-10

There is so much wisdom and depth in these 4 verses so I feel the need to dissect what Paul is saying to gain a greater understanding.

First some background: Paul, while under house arrest in Rome, wrote Colossians to the city of Colossae where a disciple of his had founded a church. During this time there were many people attempting to refute who Jesus had claimed he was and what he was about. This letter to the town of Colossae was meant to help people understand the depth of Jesus’ deity (divine status) and authority.

Now on to scripture: first off, we are brought to our full potential and full capacity in Christ. This is blatantly stated. But what is our full potential/capacity? When I think of my full capacity I automatically think of my capacity to love. to love others with the wholeness that Jesus did and does. to love others unconditionally. to love others with a forgiving heart. to love others without borders. But maybe you already do that. Maybe your full potential you have not reached yet is being vulnerable. maybe it is going and making disciples of all the nations. maybe its having the courage to stand up for what you believe; who you believe in.

But sloan, aren’t we all called to do those things?

you are so right.

Our full potential is not an “or” type deal; it is an ALL type deal. I believe that we do not have the ability to love fully, be completely vulnerable (even when it is scary), go and make disciples, or have the strongest bravery until we live out our fullness in Jesus.

how do we live out our fullness?

wonderful question; next verses.

“In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands.”

Circumcision in the bible is very spiritual and symbolic. In the Old Testament it symbolized the covenant promise God made with Abraham. Those that were circumcised evoked the “beginning of covenant solidarity.”

In this case, Paul is talking about a circumcision by Christ. A circumcision of the heart. (Romans 2:29 & 2 Corinthians 5:17)

“Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ…”

Where does this circumcision of Christ come from? how does it work?

Basically all of these words are describing what happens to our heart when we believe in Christ; when we believe that God sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins, then proceed to raise him from the dead so that we would not suffer what we deserve. all so that we can glorify the only One who deserves glory.

Our heart is cleaned when we put our whole being into Christ. We are washed clean of all our filth, grime, guilt, shame, sin; we are washed of this world.

“…having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.”

Jesus’ death was not just a representation or symbol of sin being defeated, but a real life sacrifice. Jesus became sin so that we would be clean of it. When we are baptized (not just water going over our heads, but the all-in belief of God), we are dying to this world. We are living in the realness that is Jesus Christ, and coming out of the water, rising from the dead (our past, earthly self) in Jesus Christ.

How cool is it that we are being raised from the dead through Jesus, by the one who raised him from the dead.

y’all, God is so so so so good and so incredibly worthy of all our praise. If we are raised from the dead and washed white as snow, what do we have to fear?

“Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.”

“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Colossians 2:13-15

 

stepping into my future

“This is for the day when the future calls,
But we may not feel ready.
This is for the day when we need to step into newness,
And all we want to do is curl up on a couch in familiar pyjamas and let it all pass by.

This is for the day when the stars are not aligned
When hope is tired
When energy is waning
And dreams feel slim.

This is for the day when we stand at the threshold of another year,
Reluctant.”

This hits home on so many levels. I was laying in my bed this morning reading an article titled “A Blessing for What is to Come“. The quote above is the first few lines of this beautifully written piece and it struck me so hard.

My future is calling and I feel reluctant at times. Why? Because its new. Because I’ve never been away from home in another country for 3 1/2 months. Because I’m trying to not have expectations. Because I am going 3,894 miles from home. I am going 3,894 miles from comfort. from friends. from family. from warm, familiar hugs. from everything I know. And this is scary. But it is oh, so exciting.

In 5 short days I will be embarking on a grand adventure to Dublin, Ireland for the semester. I will be living in an apartment with 5 other girls who I have never met. I will be walking 19 minutes to school every morning. I will be traveling Europe. I will be spreading Jesus’ love through interaction and adventure in this new landscape. I have the privilege of volunteering with a part of the community while going to school.

How exciting, wonderful, nerve-racking, and amazing this opportunity is.

I have come across a lot of doubt within me since committing to this trip, but the doubt will not win.

“Doubt is going to make you fail before you have even begun. Think good thoughts and know you are well capable. The impossible has been done before and will be done again; the question is if you want to be apart of it.” (Sixteen Pieces of Real Advice for 2016)

God does not fuel doubt, the world fuels doubt. God fuels peace and knowledge and love and His glory. So I will not listen to the world, I will listen to Him because He is Almighty, God, Abba, Father, Christ, Everlasting.

 

**picture used in this blog found at travelfashiongirl.com**

through the doubt and the deadlines

Well, friends, it sure has been a while. Every time I sit down to try and write a blog post, I can’t find words.

I can’t find words for how stressed I am or how much I am dreading my speech on thursday.

I can’t find words for my expectations of Jesus not being fulfilled.

I can’t find words for how lost I have been feeling.

I can’t find words for all the amazing people God has set in my life this semester; opening new relationships and flourishing old ones.

I can’t find words for the opportunities that He is opening up for me.

I can’t find words for how Jesus is breaking down walls in my life right now. Yes, it hurts. Yes, I don’t always understand it. but yes I can feel myself growing despite the pain, and the tears, and not knowing.

If we are being honest, I have felt very out of touch with God since pretty much the beginning of this semester. Why? Because I don’t ask for help. Sometimes I doubt that He is even there, let alone that He is actually listening to me cry out. Even through the doubt, I see Him shining through the people He has placed in my life. The people who don’t just tell me what is on their heart, but they ask me what is on my heart and what they can do for me. It feels SO good to be cared for. It feels so good to be cared for when it feels like you are the one who is always caring so much for others.

I know through the waiting, and the deadlines, and the speeches, and the frustration, and the madness that He is here and He loves me and He is simply waiting for me to run to Him saying, ” I can’t do this on my own.”

So here it is. Me, proclaiming, that I cannot do this thing called life on my own. I cannot meet every expectation that I have set for myself BUT He goes above and beyond any expectation that I could ever set. God is so much bigger than a deadline. God is so much bigger than the box we try to fit Him in. Though He is bigger and stronger and mightier than we could ever imagine, He loves us. He loves us with an unconditional, pursuing love that never, ever, ever gives up.

How great it is to be a daughter of the King.

abundant and unconditional grace

grace; when you hear that word what do you think of? Forgiveness, love, forgetting past transgressions, peace, comfort?

grace- n.(in Christian belief) the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings.

I looked up grace/gracious in my bible’s index and it lists 133 different verses using the word grace and 30 different books referring to the word grace. That is a whole lot of grace to be received and given.

When I imagine the word grace I think of unconditional, pursuing, and overwhelming forgiveness. This is not the same forgiveness I imagine when talking about people who have hurt me or when I have opportunities to forgive myself. Shouldn’t it be the same grace? This unconditional, pursuing, overwhelming forgiveness should be the same all across the board; whether we are talking about friends, enemies, roommates, family, cheating, lying, or Jesus. God extends to us this unrestricted and staggering grace that we only have to accept. Why are we given this grace? Because Jesus became sin so that we would be forgiven and in turn could glorify God by passing on those forgiving words, those life-changing experiences. We have this undaunted opportunity to be God’s hands and feet on this earth; but being his hands and feet means forgiving when we feel like we can’t, accepting and forgetting past transgressions, and living a life overflowing with unconditional, pursuing, and overwhelming grace.

Grace is a journey that I am working through during this season of my life. I am learning why to give grace, how to give grace, and how to accept grace for myself. I believe that giving grace is difficult because you have to swallow your pride and not think of yourself.

Giving grace is not about you. Giving grace is about something bigger than you. It is how God forgave you when there was no reason other than Jesus. It is how Jesus listened so intentionally to God that he sacrificed his pride, his dignity, his life so that you could have everlasting life. In return for this everlasting life, we are simply to strive for a life like Jesus’. The cool thing is, God knows we are going to fail. He knows we are going to fall. He knows we are going to stray from Him for weeks, months, or even years of our lives. And we are given grace. There is nothing that you do that will pull Him away from you. No sin of thought, word, or action will turn Him away.

If we are given this staggering grace on a daily basis, why is it so hard for us to give grace every once in a while? Because we are prideful living beings. Because we are given this amount of grace daily, we have a mission to give this grace back out to those who maybe do not deserve it; but do you deserve the grace that God gives you? I know I don’t. we are human. we are going to mess up. none of us deserve the grace we are given by God. But we do deserve the grace given by human words because we are all human.

so swallow your pride, give abundant grace, and live with reckless abandon.

breaking, growing, and overflowing

This past week has been difficult: not waking up to the ocean, not waking up to the team eating pancakes right outside my door, not waking up to hyg {hip young girls} bible study, not taking the Jesus bus to Lundy, not seeing those sweet faces so eager for love, and not giving my sweet babies a “N’a wè demen” (see you tomorrow). My heart hurts, but I’m grateful for the hurt. Without the hurt, how do I know that I am changing, how do I know that the Haitian culture impacted me? More importantly, how do I know that Jesus is working inside of me?

Last year I was filled with conviction when I came back. Last year as we pulled into the Miami airport I was ready to be back in my own bed. This year, a week ago, I would have gladly taken a flight back to Haiti. Those children, families, and people do something to your heart. They do not just simply take your heart; they steal it, they change it, they never give it back.A piece of my heart is and forever will be in Jeremie, Haiti. There is no changing that fact. The next step is asking myself this question: What am I going to do about it? Am I going to let that piece go and forget about it? no. I am going to mold my person into the person that Jesus longs for me to be.

When I stepped off of the bus our first day at Lundy, I immediately heard “eslon!”, which is my haitian name. One of my girls from last year, Jinia, remembered me. She grabbed my hand and my eyes welled up. She remembered me. A whole year had passed with countless numbers of teams and people in between and she remembered me. Esterling, my other little girl from last year, left the orphanage due to family and/or guardians. I am happy that she is with her family but my heart stung with the thought that I would never see her again. I may never see her again in this lifetime, but my heart sings with the fact that I will one day see her in our Heavenly Home. Two more little girls claimed me as their own throughout the week, Wezlo and Rosemilan.

If I could have brought them home with me I would have done it in a heartbeat. Their spirits are so joyous and full of life. Oh to have faith like a child. I missed the kids as soon as I even thought about leaving, now I miss them with an intensity that was not present last year. I also miss the strength and vulnerability of the team I had the blessing of serving with. The 21 people I had the privilege of spending my week impacted me in ways they may never know. The hearts of the young people on the team were absolutely and incredibly driven. I was able to see a 12 year old and an 8th grader interact with these children in ways I would have never dreamt of at that age. Spending time with other college age men and women who have the same heart that I do fills my heart to the brim; and I miss them already. Those young adults, men, and women each will forever hold a special place in my heart.

Thank you to everyone who prayed and supported me spiritually, physically, mentally, and every way in between. The prayers and financial support were appreciated SO SO much. I am not sure where God has plans for me next, but I know that I have so many people who will support His plans.

Jeremie, Haiti

In an hour and a half, I will be on my way to the airport. I will be on my way to a place that stole my heart last year and has not given it back. I will be on my way to a week full of love, fellowship, devastation, new experiences, changing lives, and heart-wrenching conviction. God is working big through the amazing team I have been placed on through His plan. We have a few people who are going to Haiti for the first time and my heart is so, so excited to see how God plans to use them in Jeremie.

For those that would like to pray for the team here a few things that I am asking for prayer over:

• Praying that the team moves when God leads us to move and we stay when He leads us to stay
• Open ears, hearts, and minds
• Safety in traveling to, from, and in Haiti
• To ready the hearts of those who are going for the first time; soften their hearts and allow them to experience everything wholly
• To ready the hearts of those who have been to experience everything in a new way
• Prayer for the children at the Lundi orphanage and the Emmanuel orphanage; for their health and hearts as we make connections with them
• For the Pastor and his family for all their generosity to LHBC
• The health of our team, the children at the orphanage, and the community

Thank you all so much for constant support and love, I will be giving an update when I get back of everything Jesus did!

let’s recap freshman year

As this semester is coming to an end, the above pictures could not be a better portrayal of how I feel. I know I need to relax, yet I have a ton of studying to do. Every college freshman who has a blog post, I believe, is entitled to a “things my freshman year taught me” post. My favorite thing about those posts is that everyones is different. People experience different things and learn different things depending on how they choose to spend their freshman year. Here are a few lessons that I learned at Belmont this past year:

1. Chacos and socks are a thing (a very comfortable thing). Maybe it is more accepted in the south, but nothing beats wearing leggings, a big long-sleeve tshirt, chacos, and socks on a chilly monday.

2. Ice cream is acceptable at all times of the night, especially at 3 am.

3. Hot tea can make you feel sophisticated on even the worst days.

4.Choosing to go to a concert instead of going to class will always be a good decision (unless you are skipping a test, I would not advise that). When I skipped 2 days of class in order to drive down to Birmingham and experience Bethel live with my closest friends, I did not regret a thing.

5. YOU ARE NOT A GRADE. That quiz you failed? That does not define you. That C you got on your 7 page paper? That does not decide your future. No matter how bad a grade might be, you are so much more.

6.Teachers really do want to help you. When you put in the extra effort, they will put it in for you.

7. Having a life-filled, loving roommate really does make your freshman year SO much better.

8. Find a group of friends that you can live life with and be yourself around. Be able to pour Jesus and love and grace into these sweet people and allow them to pour into you as well. Find people you can grow with.

9. DO NOT BE AFRAID. I repeat: DO NOT BE AFRAID. Everything will work out how it is supposed to. Bad roommate? Get through it and things will be so much brighter on the other side. Scared of what someone might think about you? Don’t be. They do not own your emotions. Choose to trust in God and His great timing.

10. Study Abroad. Even though I have not done it yet, I plan to. This is the only time in your life when you will be able to travel and have fun while earning college credit. DO IT.

11. Get involved. Join the rock climbing club, or the quidditch team, or the hiking club, or greek life, or be an orientation leader. Got turned down after an interview? Try something else. You will find your niche and people like you.

12. Be active, it will lower your stress level IMMENSELY. Going on a run after you have been studying for 5 hours will feel so good.

13. Treat yo’self. Take a study break. If you have been studying diligently for 3 hours, take a break. Read a chapter of a book, go on a run, play volleyball outside, go throw a frisbee, eat a snack.

14. Take care of yourself and say “no” once in a while. You have to take care of your body and watch what you are putting into it and doing to it. Eat what is good for you, do not eat junk for every meal. You cannot do everything. If you have a full plate already, say “no” to the next question that comes your way. You have to take time for yourself in order to calm down and stay healthy.

15. You do not have to go out every weekend and party. Take a friday night in and watch a movie with your roommate, order cookies (from Jakes Bakes, of course), and be in bed at 11 pm. 

16.Tea is so much better than coffee. Drink a cup of hot tea every morning and you will be ready to go for that 8 am. Tea helps your skin and is packed with antioxidants. Do not load it up with sugar, though. I use Stevia, which is a natural sweetener that has 0 calories in it.

17.        

18. EXPLORE. Get to know your city. There are delicious hole-in-the-wall places everywhere you go. Find a new reading nook in you local park. Try out that sketchy thai food restaurant just to say you did. Ride bikes around downtown. Go on a hike at the closest waterfall. There are so many things to do that will fill you with SO much joy.

19. Be. You. Do not try and be someone else. Do not try to fit a mold. If people do not like who you are, then they do not deserve to know you. You have wonderful qualities that the right people are going to appreciate. Be all you and nothing but you.

  

20. Take time to smell the roses (or just cute flowers). Be still. Breathe.

21. Study at coffee shops. For some reason I do not focus the best in my dorm room (i think it is because it is too cozy). I have found that I love trying new coffee shops, even though I do not like coffee, and bringing my study materials. I can get loads done.

 Just for the record: this is hot apple cider.

22. Call or text you parents whenever you want to. They are not going to be bothered. I talk to my mom (either on the phone or over text message) pretty much daily. Being able to have that sense of home is so encouraging on a rough day. I’m sure your family would love to hear from you.

23. Make your dorm your home. If you come back to an empty room, you will not feel relaxed after a long day of tests. Take the extra time to hang up pictures that make you happy or hang lights up to give the room a cozy feel. It will be worth it in the end.

24. Show love, not hate. Always. Especially when you do not want to.

25. PRAY. Prayer is a powerful thing. Even when you feel like God is not listening or is not answering your prayers, just remember: God does not work on your time. He works on HIS time. And His time will always be right.

26. Get plugged in to a small group and/or a church. Fellowship restores a weary soul.

27. Walk instead of drive (as long as it is safe). Belmont has so many great food options around it and it is so fun to walk on a spring day to get popsicles at Las Paletas or pizza from Pizza Perfect.

28. HAVE A BLAST. College is the time to be crazy (but not too crazy), explore, and have the time of your life. So go out, do, and do so with a loving and Jesus-filled heart.

r e s t

rest- n. something I do not get enough of; "relief or freedom, especially from anything that wearies, troubles, or disturbs."

“Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, for I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

Some how this verse always pops up when I need it most. Today it came up on my daily encouragement book I have sitting in the bathroom. What better verse to read during the craziness of registration, housing, and finals. These past few weeks have been nothing less than complete chaos; from registering for classes, to picking housing for next semester, to trying to switch rooms, to tests before I actually have my real finals, and I have not even started studying for finals. 12 more days until I am free of my freshman year. That blows my mind.

                   

Everyone told me that my spring semester would fly by, and I would respond with “yeah, yeah. I know..” but never did I imagine it would go by this fast. I have to get through 12 days and then I am considered a sophomore. It seems the older I get the faster everything goes by. It is so difficult to live in the moment sometimes and soak it all in. This society is go go go, not sit and breathe and take in the view. We want to move on as fast as possible so that we are able to see everything and do everything before it is too late. While I love a fast-paced life, I need slow moments; I need time to smell the roses and just be still.

Recently i have not been able to be still. With all of the decisions I have had to make i feel as though i do not have enough time to stop and take a deep breath. I know it will get there and I know I just need to be still.

Try Less, Be More.

Straight Off The Streets

We need to stop the over-glorification of busy. Along the way, we’ve come to see busy as our savior. It’s our scapegoat for stress, for dissatisfaction, disorganization, laziness in some cases, everything that is wrong is because “We’re busy.”

Ask anybody in the street “How’s it going?” And 9 times out of 10, I bet they say busy. Busy is the new good.

If you’re not busy — you’re not living. So it seems. It’s what our culture is pushing, and pushing hard.

I think the initial desire to well founded in the fact we are made for work. Work isn’t a bad thing. Work is [sometimes] our life purpose. God works. We work. It’s not a bad thing. Work is a very good thing actually, which is another thing we’ve twisted in modern day culture. We don’t value work or see it as useful other than a…

View original post 751 more words

week of icetopia

This week has been full of ice, to say the least. Nashville and ice storms do not mix, though it did make for some wonderful photo opportunities (as you can see above). One good thing that came out of all the ice is that we got out of school for 2 1/2 days at the beginning of the week. I was able to have a movie day, take pretty awesome pictures, and just relax. The relaxing came to an end when I realized that I might not be able to drive to Birmingham on wednesday to see Bethel Music play. If you have not heard of Bethel, i recommend you look up “home” by Hunter Thompson and “you make me brave” by Amanda Cook. My mother is the best mother in the universe (that is an understatement) and she drove my friend and I down to Bham in order to see our best friend and Bethel. That adventure was so worth skipping two days of class.                           Being able to worship our One Savior in the presence of best friends is so reviving after two months of being back at school. I could not ask for better friends. They make me want to be a better version of myself. They provoke a longing for adventure in me. They love me with all of my flaws. They make me feel like i’m enough.

“It will not, it will never be enough

Just to know about you Jesus

and never call you my own.

For my, my heart was made for love,

I can’t live without you Jesus.”

In the next verse of the song above, it changes to “For my, my heart was made for God…” How wonderful is that. Our hearts are made specifically for God. No matter how much sin will be in the world, we are made to love and honor and worship God. That takes place in so many forms whether that be through missions or through loving those in the direct community. Earlier today I was watching a sermon from Carl Lentz that he spoke at Passion. I had already seen it at Passion but I wanted to re-watch it. Oh man. I was filled with conviction to spread the gospel and go and DO. So, I signed up to go back to Haiti. I cannot contain the excitement that I feel. I have felt a calling to go back for a while, but I have been so worried about money. I know God will provide. I have no doubts about his works. My soul is so excited to be back in the country that stole my heart last summer.

I am going to leave you with these two quotes by Carl Lentz (if you haven’t heard him speak, go look him up on youtube):

“God loves to intervene in the super normal and use nobodys like us to tell anybodys like the people out there about the somebody who can change their life.”

“Don’t get upset when it doesn’t happen instantly, because God is working constantly.”

Thanks for reading, y’all.