i took today for myself. i havent really seen anyone. i havent really done anything. it's been a day for me to relax and rejuvenate for the coming week.
i woke up exhausted this morning, so decided that i was not going to go to church. i think the only time i've missed church in the past year was because i was really sick or out of town! it was strange to not be at church today.. but it was nice to sleep in.
i've turned on my air conditioner for the first time today. *sigh* i was hoping to put it off a little longer- but it's nice to be cool as i type this. it's quite humid and sticky here. just being outside for 30 seconds will cause sweat to drip down your face...
i can't stop listening to coldplay's latest album! (thanks to bryan for sending it to me!) it has an amazing sound and some thought-provoking lyrics!
i walked to a starbucks today and spent some time there drinking coffee, journal-ing and listening to a sermon. the sermon was really good. he spoke on luke 7:36-50, about the woman washing Jesus' feet with her tears, hair and perfume.
i've heard many sermons on these verses, but not like the sermon i heard today. the man who was giving the message was candidly honest about his doubts and fears. he admitted how he would have been very much like simon in this passage, looking at the woman disgracefully and being appalled by Jesus' reaction. i think most of us would be the same, if we were honest. his challenge for those who were listening was that we need to figure out what it means for us to love Jesus. he was saying that every day he has to get up and make the decision to follow Jesus. he's not just some "super-christian" that's always praising God and happy- the decision happens daily. what i liked about what he said is that there's no formula. so many times we look to someone as an example. or we look at some sort of structure or outline to tell us what to do to make our relationship with God more real or more fulfilling. the problem is... it's a personal relationship. it looks different for everyone. no two people are the same, therefore, no two people's relationships with God are going to be the same. he was urging people to ask God what it looks like for them. to seek God for answers and to not try to be the same as everyone else. he made the point to say that we need to be more honest with ourselves and with others. we need to stop pretending that we have it all together and that we're some great, holy people. because that's not true. we all struggle. we all have doubts. we all have sin in our life in some way. in his opinion, what we need to do is start to realise what Jesus did for us. we need to start looking at people for who they really are and stop judging. for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. romans 3.23
as you can see, it stirred up a lot of thoughts in myself. i found myself being able to agree with what this man had to say. i look at churches and wonder how many people are being true to who they are and how many people are just faking it, because they're striving to be someone they think they should be.
i think that the fact that God loves us enough that He WANTS us to be in a relationship with Him is amazing. i think that's one of the coolest things about believing in Him. it's unique. it's constant. there's no 10-step program that's going to get you there. it's more of an adventure than some mundane existence. it just got me pumped up and excited about my faith. it also put things in a real perspective. it was good to hear that a man who's been preaching for more than 10 years still has to make the decision to live the life that God's called him to live. it's makes me feel like i'm not alone.
i woke up exhausted this morning, so decided that i was not going to go to church. i think the only time i've missed church in the past year was because i was really sick or out of town! it was strange to not be at church today.. but it was nice to sleep in.
i've turned on my air conditioner for the first time today. *sigh* i was hoping to put it off a little longer- but it's nice to be cool as i type this. it's quite humid and sticky here. just being outside for 30 seconds will cause sweat to drip down your face...
i can't stop listening to coldplay's latest album! (thanks to bryan for sending it to me!) it has an amazing sound and some thought-provoking lyrics!
i walked to a starbucks today and spent some time there drinking coffee, journal-ing and listening to a sermon. the sermon was really good. he spoke on luke 7:36-50, about the woman washing Jesus' feet with her tears, hair and perfume.
i've heard many sermons on these verses, but not like the sermon i heard today. the man who was giving the message was candidly honest about his doubts and fears. he admitted how he would have been very much like simon in this passage, looking at the woman disgracefully and being appalled by Jesus' reaction. i think most of us would be the same, if we were honest. his challenge for those who were listening was that we need to figure out what it means for us to love Jesus. he was saying that every day he has to get up and make the decision to follow Jesus. he's not just some "super-christian" that's always praising God and happy- the decision happens daily. what i liked about what he said is that there's no formula. so many times we look to someone as an example. or we look at some sort of structure or outline to tell us what to do to make our relationship with God more real or more fulfilling. the problem is... it's a personal relationship. it looks different for everyone. no two people are the same, therefore, no two people's relationships with God are going to be the same. he was urging people to ask God what it looks like for them. to seek God for answers and to not try to be the same as everyone else. he made the point to say that we need to be more honest with ourselves and with others. we need to stop pretending that we have it all together and that we're some great, holy people. because that's not true. we all struggle. we all have doubts. we all have sin in our life in some way. in his opinion, what we need to do is start to realise what Jesus did for us. we need to start looking at people for who they really are and stop judging. for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. romans 3.23
as you can see, it stirred up a lot of thoughts in myself. i found myself being able to agree with what this man had to say. i look at churches and wonder how many people are being true to who they are and how many people are just faking it, because they're striving to be someone they think they should be.
i think that the fact that God loves us enough that He WANTS us to be in a relationship with Him is amazing. i think that's one of the coolest things about believing in Him. it's unique. it's constant. there's no 10-step program that's going to get you there. it's more of an adventure than some mundane existence. it just got me pumped up and excited about my faith. it also put things in a real perspective. it was good to hear that a man who's been preaching for more than 10 years still has to make the decision to live the life that God's called him to live. it's makes me feel like i'm not alone.
we love because he first loved us.
-1 john 4:19
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