The True Super Bowl

Sadly, my team did not make it to the Super bowl this year, or any year for that matter and I don't plan on it making it any time soon.

 I have been rooting for the same team since 7th grade. You can say that I am a diehard fan. I worship this team,  it means the world to me. Now I may have been influenced to choose this team because part of my family roots for it also, but as I got older it became my decision.  I choose to follow this team not just on game day but every day, though Sundays I specifically set a part time.

 

For most of you Super bowl Sunday ends  game season, but for me it's just another day. My team does not stop fighting for the "trophy" on any specific day. My team does not only play on Sundays, Mondays, or Thursdays, my team plays every day. This team does not consist of only 11 players on a 120 yard field, but of an army of players on a never ending field.

 

Every single day my team fights for my life and yours, and every single day they win.

 

I'm not rooting for the Seahawks or Broncos this Sunday, but this Sunday, along with every other day, I am rooting for my team, Jesus.

 

Jesus is the one that has already brought home the trophy. It's not some fancy 7 pound one that costs $12,500, but it's one that lasts a lifetime and is free to us. Jesus has given and fought for the trophy of eternal life.

 

The Super bowl I root for is not the one that  a majority of Americans are sitting on their couches watching, but mine is of a different realm. This Super bowl does not just last a few hours, but this one lasts lifetimes. It is not between the Seahawks and the Broncos, but between God and His army of angels and Satan and his demons.

 

" For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12

 

With American football teams you take a gamble choosing which team to root for. They have bad games and good games and there is no team that will ever fulfill your yearn to prosper. But the team of Jesus always wins. He always prospers and He will win every battle thrown at Him. Which is a lot more than you could say about any other team out there.

I never have to worry whether my team will win our not because He promises me that He always will. And that is a promise this world cannot and will not ever offer.

"But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57

I Am Completely Embarassed

Me, along with many others, have completed there first week of school since being on break. Now my break has been quite a bit longer than the average month college students usually receive. It has actually been over a year since I have walked on campus and strangely enough I am so glad to be back. I am starting to enjoy my math class which to those who know me is something you never thought you would hear. Although I am enjoying the new learning opportunities, I am not enjoying what I am seeing outside of class.

Since I wasn't going to school I was filling my time with other things. I have spent ample amounts of time at my church helping with various activities and programs. I have also been fighting the world along side my nephews, who are 4 and 2 years old, dressing up as super heroes and fighting off the bad guys. (You're welcome.)

I have been surround by my church and family this past year which has been such a blessing. They all love Jesus and I couldn't ask for better people to be around. Although it has been great spending time with them reality has set in. I was living in a bubble. One that only encased my church and family. One that blocked the outside world from me. And don't get me wrong, it's been really nice, but it has made walking through those college doors a lot harder.

As I walked in the first thing I saw was a girl inappropriately dressed. Something I have not been use to seeing lately because the most frequent place I have traveled to this past year has been church. And with a congregation that has an average age of 60 or older you don't see to many inappropriate clothing situations.

Next I saw a couple fighting quite loudly in the cafeteria. I don't know exactly what they were fighting about but what I do know is that the word "cheating" was thrown around one time too many. My heart quickly started to hurt. Not just because the only fighting I have been exposed to the past year was just with the average "Incrediboy" but because that is something no one should be dealing with.

I have been so use to seeing Jesus every where I have turned this past year, but I walked in those doors with it being so close to impossible finding Him.

With that I knew I needed to do something, but I didn't know what. I walked the hallways silently praying for the school and my peers and as I continued to class I was hoping God would show me what He wanted me to do.

I walked into my first class and since it is the beginning of the semester the dreaded action of saying your name and saying something interesting about you in front of the whole class was upon us. I've always hated this. First of all everything is interesting about me ;) Completely kidding, but seriously I always blank when it comes to my turn. And this time around it was worse than normal. All I could think of was "Hi, my name is Lindsey and something interesting about me is that this past year I have watched "The Incredibles" more times than I can count." Not something I was ready to boldly proclaim after reuniting with my peers after a year. So I kept thinking and I knew that this was something I could use to show Jesus, but I didn't know exactly how. So I kept thinking and it was just about my turn and my hands started to sweat and I could feel my face turn red. I stood up without anything logically prepared in my head I just started talking, "Hi, my name is Lindsey and I have two nephews whom I enjoy spending my time with." 

I sat down completely embarrassed. Not just because my response wasn't the most interesting, but because I deliberately dismissed the opportunity to share Jesus. He put me in a situation that was so clear. I knew exactly what I needed to do yet I didn't. 

I fell into a pattern this past year. I chose to place myself in that bubble with only people who love Jesus. I chose to be comfortable with my faith. 

Jesus's whole life was uncomfortable. He was mocked and betrayed. He was crucified on the cross just so we could live freely of our sins. He was completely uncomfortable. He chose to pop the bubble. He chose to walk into situations that He knew the message needed to be shared and he followed through, it was worth the embarrassment.

I want to be uncomfortable. I want to be like Jesus. I want to pop my bubble. 

True Beauty

We live in a world that preaches “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” but our actions show differently.

A world in which “size doesn’t matter” but few can say that with honesty.

A world in which we proclaim “true beauty is in your heart” yet we cake on our make just to fit the part.

Now I have believed every one of those statements but I have also disowned every one. I cannot go a single day without judging myself or someone else nor without looking in the mirror thinking I could be prettier or thinner. As a girl I feel I am more prone to these thoughts but I also know guys suffer too. This world suffers.

We live in a world where enough is never enough. And that is thrown into our faces every single day whether it be from the media or from people. 

The standards this world sets are far beyond our reach.

Maybe if I just skip a few meals I’ll get there...

Maybe if I run a few extra miles I’ll get there...

Maybe if I wear the same clothes as she/he does or do my hair/makeup the same I’ll get there...

Get to where exactly? To a place where we can feel good about ourselves for a day, a month, maybe even a year? But then get thrown right back to where we were before because what we thought was enough just changed because enough is never enough. We’ll get to a place where we feel like we fit in because we’re dressing like those girls/guys on TV and then that season ends and a new one begins.

I live in world where enough is never enough, but I serve a God in which He is enough. A God who doesn’t measure my beauty in pounds or fashion sense. A God who I don’t need to dress up for, physically or mentally. He takes me where I am. He takes me as I am. 

Let’s go back to the beginning:

“God saw all that He made and it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31) 

Now I wasn’t there but I am pretty positive Adam and Eve were not wearing Uggs or Jordan’s or any of the latest fashions items. In fact they were naked. (“Adam and his wife were both naked” Genesis 2:25) Yet God looked at them and said “it was good”. What could be more fulfilling than the King of Kings looking at you and saying “You are good.”? Nothing. The answer is nothing because worth in Christ is more fulfilling than having worth in this world. I will not live a day in which the world will turn and look at me and say “You are good.”, but I now live every day with my Savior constantly reminding me that I am. 

Those new clothes, the new makeup, the ten pound weight loss will not give you true beauty or true worth. What will is Christ. He makes you beautiful. Let Him step inside your heart and you will be amazed.

My Perfect Ending..

I thought I would be way farther in life by now. According to my plans I’d be graduating next year and hopefully getting married sometime in the near future. But I sit here typing this not going to school. No where near graduating. No boyfriend, no job and I have no idea what’s next.

So let me tell you about my past two years:

The first year of college was good. I decided to stay home and attend my community college. I attended classes and was searching for my major (no where close to finding one but that was okay since I was just a freshman). I continued being a leader in youth programs and loved the simplicity I had in life. The summer after my first year of college I got a job at an amazing summer camp and I was blessed by being a counselor to kids throughout the summer and sharing Jesus with them. It was a great experience. But after that summer life hit hard. I had to “grow up”. No more seasonal jobs. No more taking random classes towards nothing. I had to sit down and plan my life. 

Now I am a full on planner. I love knowing exactly what’s coming next, how I’m going to get there, and how long it’s going to take. So when I sat down to plan my life and my mind was completely blank, it totally threw me off. So since nothing came to mind I thought I would just walk through life and see where it took me.

I got an amazing opportunity to become a youth ministry intern at Trinity and St. Johns for a year. It was a dream come true. I love Jesus and I love kids and this included both. Life was turning out way better than I’d thought. And then I hit a bump in the road. I enjoyed the work I was doing but I wasn’t happy. The conclusion was made between me and God that I was not meant to be a youth director, at least at this point in my life and that was one of the hardest things to hear. I thought my perfect ending was coming but it hadn’t even started.

I finished out my year and don’t get me wrong I strongly enjoyed the opportunity I had and my passion for serving youth is still so strong but that wasn’t where I was suppose to park myself. So I stood back up to try again. I decided to major in dental hygiene because..well actually there is no because. I have absolutely no idea why I chose this major, it just seemed like it could work. So I jumped in, I started taking classes towards it and life was moving. This last summer I applied for a job as an orthodontic assistant and after 3 long weeks and 3 interviews I achieved that status. And after a month of working there that was no longer. I didn’t enjoy the environment and thought there has to be something better. So instead of changing my route again I decided to try one more time. I applied for a position as a dental assistant and acquired that to my disbelief after a five minute interview. I thought this has to be fate. It’s hard to get these jobs and I have gotten two within three months. This is where I’m suppose to be. 

Getting this job I was told I would be working around 25-30 hours a week. Two weeks into it I was working 8 (a big difference when I chose to take the semester off for this job). I talked to the dentist about my hours and long story short I needed to head back to the drawing board. I felt defeated. I didn’t know what to do so I headed back to what I knew best..my high school summer job as a car hop. I thought that this would buy me some time to just think about my future and hopefully before the season ended I would know where I was headed next. And well, that didn’t happen.

That was 3 months ago. And the old me would be wracking my brain trying to figure out what’s next. I’d be drawing out new plans and preparing to set them in motion. But something’s changed. 

I’ve loved Jesus for the majority of my life and he has been through everything with me, but I was over that. I was over just loving Jesus; there has to be more. And I found more. More love, more grace, more mercy. I don’t just love Him anymore, I am in love with Him. My life has changed. Since I had a lot a free time these last 3 months I found myself trying to fill my time with everything until I decided to fill it with one thing, Jesus. In relationships they always says "communication is key" and well it is, especially with God. It has been life changing the amount of time I have spent with him. He has become a regular part of my day. I use to talk to Him because I need to, now it's not always a matter of "need" but of "want". ("The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth." Psalm 145:18)

I put my worth into the successes of this world and they failed me each and every time. I now put my worth in Christ and there are no plans I can make for this crazy ride. ("For I know the plans I have for you" declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.")

I still thought I’d be farther than this. I still thought I’d almost be graduated and on the way to marriage and have a job. But I don’t. And I have no idea where God is taking me next, but I am secure in His plans. Whether it’s college, a job, a boy, a mission trip all around the world or all of the above, it doesn’t matter, because what matters is what I have, and that’s Him.

My perfect ending started a long time ago..over 2000 years to be exact ;)