Give Thanks

Hello.  Happy Thanksgiving to you! I hope you all are in the company of those who love you and care for you.  We obviously are not meeting tomorrow due to the holiday.  So, I wanted to write a hopefully quick blog post about giving thanks.  What is it?  As any mathematician would do (I majored in it in college), we start with a definition.  From the Websters 1828 online dictionary, thanksgiving means "Rendering thanks for goods received."  Thanks means an "expression of gratitude and acknowledgment made to express a sense of favor or kindness received. Gratitude is the feeling or sentiment excited by kindness; thanks are the expression of that sentiment. Luke 6."  This dictionary is cool because bible verses are given as the example sentences.

Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory. 1 Cor.15.

Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift. 2 Cor.9.

He took bread and gave thanks to God. Acts.27.

Giving thanks is an emotional and logical recognition that one has received good things from God and willingly acknowledges that He gave them to us.  It can be likened to one moved to compassion to help some one in need.  We are that one in need whom God has reached out to and given the blessings of heaven - pouring them out upon our heads and into our lives...into our hearts.  Do we recognize it?  Or do we mentally assent - only acknowledging His favor with our minds and moving onto other thoughts within the next thought moment?  Whether we are thankful in our hearts or we need to be, let us walk and continue to walk in an attitude and posture of thanksgiving.  In a song my dad used to sing as a child the chorus went like this: "Count your blessings. Name them one by one. Count your many blessings see what God has done."  Whether you like to do it in your head, write it out or take pictures of it, count your blessings.  Name them one by one.  Acknowledge God who has given you all these things.  It will place your heart in the right place, undo habits of complaining, and give you a joyful and happy heart.

Inductive Bible Study & Lectio Devina

Hello! Over the course of the last two Charge meetings, we have been learn and practicing ways to read the bible and pray.  As the core disciplines of the Christian faith, it is essential that we focus on them.  Reading the bible is one way that God speaks to us, and prayer is one way we can talk to God.

Inductive Bible Study
We learned how to study the bible by practicing inductive bible study.  Inductive, for all of us who need a definition, means "characterized by the inference of general laws from particular instances."  We read the bible and marked up the passage on paper, asked questions, answered them from the passage we read, and then made applications to our lives.  We used a passage of scripture without verses.  But don't let that stop you, verses or no verses, print out scripture from such websites as biblegateway.com or blueletterbible.org.  Use whatever you have - colored pens, pencils, highlighters, etc.  And use whatever coloring scheme you like.  The steps are pretty simple, yet we got some fairly deep questions and answers out of our study.  Maybe you don't feel you have time or you feel you are not spiritual enough.  Any friendship begins by asking the person their name (hopefully).  And back in the day we asked each other what our favorite color was.  Get to know God.  Be honest with who you are and the questions you have.  There is no question too hard for God.  Take it at your pace.  You do not have to do a whole book at once!  However you go about it, you will do great.

Here are a few resources for questions and approaches to take when doing inductive bible study:
1. InterVarsity's Inductive Bible Study Hints: http://www.intervarsity.org/bible-studies/inductive-bible-study-hints
2. Basic Questions for Inductive Bible Study (great for different writing styles found in Scripture) http://www.pas.rochester.edu/~tim/study/inductive.pdf

Lectio Devina
Lectio Devina is a form of concentrated prayer.  Instead of being hands on with pencils and print outs of scripture, the bible is read audibly several times.  The first time is just to listen.  The second time is to listen for something that stands out, and the third step is to focus on that aspect.  Then we pray it back to God telling Him what we have focused on.  I don't know about you, but when I pray like this, it is almost magical the way God comes and speaks to me.  Somehow He tells me how to apply what I have focused on to my life.  Or He tells me something deeper.  Anything is possible with God.  I encourage you to try this in your quiet time (daily bible reading habit), or try it with some friends.  We only spent about 5-10 minutes doing it too.  God will lead you.

Why I'm Not Color-blind: A Testimony from Rachel

Hello Guys and Gals!  Two weeks ago we had Geoff from Northern Arizona University (NAU) come and speak to us about multiethnic relationships.  Rachel is is our guest blogger for the topic and has openly shared her testimony in this area.  I encourage you to reflect on your experiences as you read Rachel's story.

"It honored me to have Geoff Gentry from NAU speak at Charge two weeks ago.  He and I have shared many experiences over the years, so it was great to share UNM with him.  I especially appreciated that he told a lot of his story in growing to value God’s multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, Kingdom.  I am on a similar journey in coming to value multi-ethnicity, so I thought I’d share it with you.

"I spent my childhood in the mostly white context of Midwest small towns.  When I was 13, my family moved to Arizona and my experience became much more ethnically diverse.  This is the first time I remember encountering issues of race.  However, no one really helped me interpret these encounters, so I didn’t handle them very well and I was left mostly confused rather than transformed.

"In middle school, I was assigned a debate project where I had to be anti-affirmative action.  During my closing statement I used a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. that one day people will 'be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character,' as support for being completely color-blind. My classmates of color erupted in protest.  And for years I had no idea why they were upset. 

"In high school, my best friend was Mexican-American.  She prioritized spending time with her family and respecting her parents above anything else.  Many times she wouldn’t come over to my house, eat my mom’s food, or stay late because she needed to be at home for a meal or some other task.  My parents were offended by this, and though I was too shy to say so, I was sometimes offended too.  But it was just because I didn’t understand how her family was different from mine.

In college, I was a part of InterVarsity and at the time our chapter contained mostly white students.  I went back to not having to talk much about race or ethnicity.

"Thankfully, my sophomore year God gave me the opportunity to attend an InterVarsity Urban Project in St. Louis.  I attended an incredible multi-ethnic church.  For the first time, I worshiped in at least 5 different languages.  During the project, we received teaching on racial reconciliation and social justice issues in the US.  God began to reveal to me His desire to bring healing, justice, and reconciliation to the places of pain that many people of color have experienced in the US.  It broke my heart and I began to fall in love with what God loves.

"I started to love trying different types of food and getting to hear people pray in other languages.  I had further experiences at the Urbana conference, in China, in multi-ethnic literature classes, and at other urban projects that shaped me.  My senior year I had the gift of a non-Christian Navajo roommate who took me to visit her home and the Navajo Nation Fair. I learned SO MUCH from her.

"I had been raised to be “color-blind”: to only see people’s characters and not emphasize the differences in people’s appearances, especially in terms of the color of their skin.  It was an unwritten rule in my family that race was a negative topic to discuss.  While I’m grateful that my parents raised me to not be racist and to not treat anyone negatively because of the color of their skin, it wasn’t enough for me to stay there.     

"I had to continue on the journey.  I began to learn that ignoring people’s ethnic background devalues some of the most important parts of their stories and identities.  My aversion for talking about race or ethnicity had prevented me from understanding the experiences of people around me.  And my denial that I had an ethnicity or culture myself as a white American kept me from celebrating how God has made me and from being a part of racial reconciliation.

If you are white person who has come from a similar story to mine, I encourage you to engage rather than shy away from the topic of multi-ethnicity, even if it’s confusing and uncomfortable for you.  I’d love to talk about what would be good next steps for you to take in your journey.  I first recommend reading Being White by Doug Schaupp and Paula Harris.  You can borrow it from me.  It’s awesome.    

"If you are a person of color, thank you for extending grace to white brothers and sisters in Christ as they stumble along on this journey.  I would encourage you to continue to seek racial reconciliation and to let Jesus work through the gift of your ethnic background.  He wants to use you for something great.  How will you pursue that? I’d love to talk with you about next steps in your journey as well. 

"It has been a painful, awkward, frightening journey for me these past few years as I’ve sought to grow in my understanding of how God sees ethnicity and how He wants me to act in response to that.  And I still have a LONG way to go.  But the journey has already brought such richness to my life! And I’m committed to continuing by the grace of God."

Reflections from China Night

Hello fellow IVers!  Last week we had 3 member of our UNM chapter share their experiences of going to China on one of InterVarsity's global projects.  Meri, Carlos and Steven went to China this past summer and opened up to us about their struggles and victories in going.

Steven started us off, Meri batted next, and Carlos hit both runners in.  Steven highlighted the benefits that befriending internationals can bring.  Relationships are a two-way street, and as Steven gave, he also received blessings and friendship in return.  The Chinese students were very hospitable towards Steven - making sure his every need was met and even buying him a water bottle when playing pick-up basketball.  Growing up myself half-Indian and half-American, I can confirm that hospitality plays a big part in Asian culture.  Sometimes it became a hospitality war between the relatives as to who could show the greater hospitality.  Although we go on mission trips to give and serve, those who are served want to give back.  It is good to receive the blessings the people want to give us so that they too can be blessed through giving.

Meri's journey to China started way before going to China.  She made every excuse she could to not go.  No experience in fund raising, other people are better, and a host of other excuses still didn't measure up to God's desire for Meri to go to China.  You see, we can all make these same excuses for the things God wants us to do in our lives.  The reality is that what God wants of us is going to turn out far better than any result we can fathom from us not going - wherever the going takes us.  God might be calling you to the dorms, your family, your friend, a new group of internationals on campus whose culture you don't know - fill in the blank. Take a leap of faith...those that have gone where God has called them can tell you that the blessing of obedience resulted in many other blessing including those felt deeply in the heart from God's presence.

Carlos' testimony underscores a point that I hope we didn't miss.  We do not have to be perfect to go.  Carlos was struggling with his very relationship with God when he went.  Traveling overseas is a big deal.  There is a lot of commitment put into going over seas.  You have to get a passport which involves getting your photo taken and sending in paper work with a fee to US government.  You have to prepare mentally for a long plane ride that can last 18-36 hours and air plane food.  When you get to the other country, you can't just go home!  You have to watch your wallet...safety is very relevant.  I went overseas a bunch as a kid with my family, and the biggest thing we watched out for was our wallet.  It can be scary, but to see how God led Carlos to China despite his own personally feelings with all the larger logistics of going is truly a testimony to God's faithfulness and power.  It was in China that Carlos received support from his fellow brothers as he opened up to them about his struggles.  Not all of us can go to China, but wherever we go whether Chapter camp, IV retreats or even to small groups at IV or from church, are we willing to let others minister to us?  Are we willing to follow God no matter how we feel?  We do not have to be perfect.  The time God wants to use you may be in the middle of your greatest struggles with your weaknesses glaring in your face. (See 2 Corinthians 12:9)

Whether you jump at the opportunity to go or you put up the wall of excuses, go if God is calling you.  Go where God is calling. Be obedient to God and never look back.

Cross-cultural Relationships

Hello! It's been a while. I hope you all had a great time at Great Escape and on Fall Break. Two weeks ago Jasmine from NM Tech came and shared her experiences relating to people of other cultures while being of a mixed cultural background. She got real with us and laid out what it is like to struggle and be victorious. She reminded us that as Psalm 139-7-18 says, we are made wonderfully and beautifully. Our identity also is wonderful and beautiful.

Whether we are of a mixed background or not, the fact of life is that the way we have grown up is a culture. It is a way of life. However we learned to operate within our family and our neighbors growing up has shaped our view of the world and how it should run. It is challenging when other people have grown up with another culture and the way they do things is completely different. It has all been one way for each person. And in many cases, we insist that we are right. That the other person needs to conform to our way of doing things. Sometimes this a perceived demand from another person or the culture around us. This is where things go wrong...terribly wrong. God didn't make the world so that everything was done one way. If it were, He would have said so. God is creative, and the way He made us and cultures is creative. It is supposed to come together eventually and make a whole. I don't know about you, but when I have prayed with internationals from other countries, the perspective they bring to prayer is so differently edifying that I learn something about my attitude towards God. In the same way, I bet they learn from me too. Even other Americans who have grown up differently than I have teach me things about God. 

None of us is perfect, and embracing other people's differences can make us a better person and even a better Christian. Things that are emphasized in another culture maybe be taught in our culture, but that element may be important to a balanced life. When it comes to other cultures, especially ethnically speaking, remember this: God made every culture. When we find someone from a different country, keep an open mind. Learn how they do things and learn to speak their heart language. Often times we are saying the same thing but using different words. 

One day we will be worshiping in God's kingdom with a great crowd of every tongue, tribe and nation. (Revelation 7:9-10)  We might as well live it out here on earth.

For further reading: Deuteronomy 10:19, 24:17-22; Isaiah 56:1-6; Luke 10:25-37

Overcoming Stress

Hello, Friends! This past week we talked about practical ways to share our faith at IV large group. Before I dive into a post about this though, I would like to share on a topic that we all deal with - especially as college students. I feel burdened to write, and much of what I am going to share comes out of an experience God took me through in college. 

When I was a sophomore in college, I was majoring in chemistry (note the 'was' haha!). Chemistry was pretty difficult. I liked it, and I plugged away at it, but it did not really come naturally. I did understand what was being taught but the understanding came pretty slowly. The chemistry class I was in became like something of a 24/7 job. I thought about it all the time and even reasoned problems through in my mind while I slept - and you could probably argue that I wasn't sleeping. Stress, as defined from the Google search engine, is "a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances." Well, that was me. Stressed out to the MAX. There was no relaxing. And there was definitely no peace. I worried about every grade in that chemistry class. I was so anxious every time I turned in a homework. I was equally as anxious about getting the homework back. I managed to get a solid B and sometimes and A on the homework sets.

One time, as I was working on a homework and feeling anxious and tight and fatigued, I felt like God got my attention. He told me something like this: "You know, Lisa, you worry about every grade and every homework in this class, but in the end, things turn out fine. You get a passing grade. Why don't you work hard without the anxiety (and trust Me instead). Things are going to work out fine no matter what your attitude is in this situation."

Yes, God wants you to know the same truth that He told me. We can express it in many ways I am sure, but the bottom line is this: You know that you are working hard. God has not brought you to college to fail. Work hard, trust the Lord, and He will bring you through your classes every semesters. Matthew 6:27 says "Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your life." (NIV) No! We can't! In fact, we lose time by worrying. I worried to the point of obsession I'm sure. It was not healthy at all. Psalm 127:2 says "It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for He gives to His beloved sleep." (RSV) I believe I took this to heart in grad school. I was able to go to bed by 10 or 11 every night. 

So yes, we have to work hard in college. Let work be work, and take the stress out of it by trusting in God to sustain you and work through you. He created everything you are studying. Ask Him to open your eyes and heart to what you are studying. Do what it takes to be able to labor in the day and rest at night. For me, it was overcoming procrastination and forming some better study habits. Instead of starting the homework assignment a few days before it was due (or the day before it was due), I started an assignment the day it was given - sometimes two weeks in advance even if it was reading through the problem and thinking about it the first day (that's how math worked). And if you haven't considered it all ready, pray and ask God whether you are in the right major. I soon discovered that chemistry was not for me because it did not come easy. Math came easier to me, and I found pleasure in it. You may remember the story of Eric Liddle, an Olympic runner, who would not run on Sundays, because of his faith. He once said that "God made me fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure." What has God made you to do? What do you do that, when you work in it, it gives you pleasure - a pleasure from God because you are doing what He created you to do?

 

Today, search your heart. Seek God in prayer. He will show you the way. And I hope that you find out what I did - that there is no need to stress over school work. God will get you through. He will take care of you, and He intends for you to succeed. 

Witnessing: A Reflection by Nathan Holden

Hello fellow IVers, sorry the blog is a little late this week.  I know you were all waiting with bated breath. 

Last week Steven spoke about witnessing as part of our IV community but he started out by reminding us of our position in relation to God.  We are sinners that have fallen hilariously short of the standard God has set for us.  See Romans 3:23 for verification.  We truly do deserve nothing but his wrath and yet, by and large, we get his grace, mercy and blessing.  And all we really have to do to get what He has to offer is merely accept Him into our lives as lord and master.  First and foremost.

It’s really important to remember this when we think of witnessing.  I mean think of how hard it is to not tell everyone you know about a really great gift or the amazing deal you just got at some store, even when those people really don’t care to hear it.  It really is okay to be excited about the gift we have in Jesus.  Whether it’s a passive or active witness be excited about it. 

If you’re at work or in class realize that from the perspective of God’s Kingdom you are there because He has lead you there.  I don’t personally think that our main focus in the classroom or the workplace should be proselytizing since we are in those places to learn or work.  However, you can be excited that you are there when everyone else is grumbling, not swearing when everyone else is, not getting drunk on the weekends when everyone else is.  Being the apple in a sea of oranges is a witness in and of itself because eventually one of the oranges is going to ask why you aren’t a citrus fruit.

And when it comes to actively witnessing understand that you are in good company when you feel afraid, insecure, or anything else.  Every one of the Disciples surely felt the same and they had spent three years with Jesus in person.  Its okay to feel nervous but don’t let that stop you.  Jesus died for all and in all honesty we were that unsaved person once too.  Just think of where you’d be if someone hadn’t made the effort to tell you about the love of Jesus. 

The two best pieces of advice I believe I ever gotten about actively witnessing are to not try to convince people that your way is right and to not invite people to church.  When you try to convince someone that you’re right and their wrong honest witnessing soon becomes arguing and at that point the truth of the Gospel doesn’t matter.  It quickly becomes a “my team is better than your team” conversation of which there can be no winner.  Finally, remember you aren’t inviting people to church which is often what they think you are doing.  At least in my experience that’s what they seemed to have been thinking.  Tell them about Jesus and what He’s done for you and what He’ll do for them.     

Cinnamon Rolls: A Reflection of Christian Community

Hello Everyone! Yes! You read the title exactly. Cinnamon rolls represent a model for Christian community. If you were not sure of that before last week's IV, I sure hope you are now...James certainly hopes you are convinced. Not to mention that the craving for a cinnamon roll grew so much during large group we all had to go get one afterwards - haha. In all seriousness, the illustration of baking is great. Each ingredient plays a big part in making the roll into a cinnamon roll. And we all are the ingredients in God's kingdom - making up a sweet aroma to represent Christ and his community, the church. InterVarsity is a small representation of this at UNM. It's not always easy, but as we work at it, applying Colossians 3 to our lives, and walking through trials together, we will gel, and grow...maybe even into a sweet roll with Jesus as the icing. However you want to view it, God is the master baker, the great physician etc., God is the leader of us all. How we grow in Christian love for one another is up to us and the choices we make daily towards each other. It is answering "Yes" to the little things God asks of us that will build into one well baked IV group.

 from filmandfood.com

Yes. Implant the visual firmly in your mind. Christ desires us to dwell in unity. 

For further reading & study see Colossians 3, I Corinthians 12:12-13, 2 Corinthians 2:14-17

God Wants Me to Change the World?

Hi all. Last week we talked about world changers in large group. We heard from Rachel how God used her and her friends, with all their history, to lead a global project this past summer. We also followed Matthew to the end of Jesus' time with him and the rest of the disciples. It is amazing to think that Matthew started out at the bottom of society, someone hated by everyone for taxing their money and not being true to the Jewish culture. Tax collector was a negative term to describe worthless and evil people. Jesus called Matthew, and Matthew followed Him right away, in his home, with his friends, to the end of Jesus time on earth, and beyond. Rachel and her friends are a modern-day tangible example of this very same thing. One liked to stir things up and cause interruption, and another kept a good impression on the outside but was insecure on the inside. What God is trying to tell us is this: it does not matter what your past, what people have called you and labeled you, what you have done to yourself or what you call yourself. God wants to take your life story, renew you in His love and identity, and make something awesome out of it. Matthew is the writer of one of the four gospels in the Bible. Rachel allowed God to transform her, go on staff with InterVarsity and transform the UNM campus. What could God do through you?

We all come from different places. Some of us have been wounded and hurt by others. Some of us have made wrong choices that we are dealing with to this day. None of us is without sin. The glorious thing about being a follower of Christ, is His plan to redeem everything in our lives. God wants to make things right in your life. For me, personally, I have met some of the most harsh and some of the kindest people. Jesus is the best of them all. He is the kindest and strongest person you could ever have in your heart and life - the one to complete you, make you whole, and make you a world changer. God changed Matthew from despised in society to cherished in His kingdom. Wherever you are in your relationship with God. Take a few moments to consider where you are in life, where God wants to take you and how He wants to make you into a world changer. The impact could can be right in your town. It could go across the world through you or those you disciple. It does not matter where you and your influence go. It is about souls in need of a savior.

Psalm 1:1 says that those that are rooted in God and away from wrong influences are "like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither." Just remember that you may not be changing the world all the time, but you will do it at the right time and stay in healthy balance all year long when you are close to God, in His word daily, and hearing from Him. So, my brothers and sisters in Christ, "As therefore you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so live in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving." (Colossians 2:6-7 RSV)

Renewing...Your Habits?

Hello fellow IVers! (Is that a word?) So you might be wondering where the next post has been. Maybe you have been tapping your toe impatiently waiting for this post to show up. Maybe you really don't care at all. I was contemplating the lateness of this post...am I late? Or...maybe I am forming a new habit. If you look at my other blogs, there is at most one post a month. Yes, I reasoned (with myself), I am forming a new habit. This reminds me of the topic we discussed at Large group #2 last Thursday. We talked about renewing our campus and starting Matthew Parties (small groups). Maybe this concept of a small group is new to you. Maybe going deeper into the bible with fewer people is something you have never experienced before. Maybe you were weirded out by the term Matthew party. Since when did Christians get to have fun and throw a party? Well, if you are saved, you and I have a lot to party and celebrate. Everything Christ has done for our lives is a reason to be thankful - no condemnation about it, just a fact.

Back to habits and renewal. Some of us have been brought up by our parents or communities to study the Bible together, and some of us are just getting started. What are you going to do, older Christian, to stay strong, and help others dive into God's word? Do you need to create any new habits? What about those of you who are new to this whole Matthew Party idea? What habits do you need to form to stay committed to the desire in your heart to learn more about God and grow in helping others learn more about God?

In a word, what are you going to do to be renewed and to renew your campus? Renew, from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary means "to make like new : restore to freshness, vigor, or perfection, to make like new : restore to freshness, vigor, or perfectionto do again to begin again." The definition from Google says "resume (an activity) after an interruption." This doesn't have to be a big action, this can also be changes in your heart. There will almost always be people that oppose your desire and actions to change. It will require you to step out in faith. Although you can't see the change in yourself or what will happen in the future, God will be there in your present moment and in that future moment too. This life is about Jesus, right? Do not be afraid to be a follower of Christ. Step out. Be the laborer in the harvest that God wants you to be. Whether you need to start with being renewed or you need to start with renewing your campus, let God's renewal begin in your life today.

Transformation

Hi there! Welcome to the IV at UNM blog! This is Lisa Holden here. Since joining InterVarsity (IV) at UNM and becoming volunteer staff, I have found IV to be a great place to dive into God’s word and make some serious friends. I want to continue that through this blog by reflecting on what we are learning in large group, small groups, and discipleship groups. It is also meant to be a forum for further discussion of these topics.

That said, we started off the first IV large group with a discussion on the first part of InterVarsity’s vision statement.

“To see students and faculty transformed”

We heard the story of Jesus stopping by Matthew’s tax booth and calling Matthew to follow Him. See Matthew 9:9-13. We also heard how God stepped into Rachel’s life and called her from her defined zone into a path He had in mind and had planned for her.

 



As Christians, we are to continually become more and more like Christ. So as the talk unfolded, I began to wonder “Where does God want me to be transformed next?” Where does God want you to be transformed? What area of your life does God want to change and transform?  It seems that Matthew had lost his identity. Matthew had created a world of his own around himself. He was probably a bit confused too. Back in that day, being a Jew and a Tax Collector didn’t mix. Tax Collector was a term used to describe an evil person. Often times we describe who we are by what others have said about us. Or, we label ourselves by what we want to believe about ourselves. We can lose our identity in everything but God. God has a purpose and plan for each one of us, one that will showcase everything we have in our being and then some. Once Matthew met Jesus and followed him, he didn’t change everything - he still through a party with his tax collector friends after he met Jesus. You see, when we get saved, Jesus doesn’t step in to our world and go with us wherever we want to go. We change to follow Him wherever he is going with whatever He wants to do in our lives. “You are not own. You were bought with a price.” (1 Corinthians 6:19&20) Hopefully, like Matthew’s friends, our friends will come along with us.

Matthew left His vision for being a tax collector and being wealthy behind. Will you lay down your vision for God’s vision for your life? If you know God’s vision for your life, will you be faithful to it? To Him? Will you let Him change you? “What do you know about all this?” you might be asking. “I’ve barely met you and you’re writing a blog post about God wanting to change me and challenging him to let me. Back off!” Ok. Haha. What do I know? I too had created an identity that wasn’t what God wanted me to think. Growing up I created an identity based on what other people said or did to me. I was a victim. I was unworthy of anything good. I believed all sorts of things about myself that were not true (and it was pretty obvious they were not true.) Like, when I was in grad school, I thought I was stupid even though I majored in math and was doing my graduate degree in engineering. By the world’s standards, even, I was smart. I was applying my brain to the talent of math and science that God had given me, but I still couldn’t see that I was smart because of what others had said about me, and I definitely could not fathom this truth in my heart. I thought life was supposed to be tough and miserable, but that was not what God had in mind for me at all. God showed me that these lies and many others were definitely not His plan for me. Life is tough, and we will always run into troubles from other people, but God never meant for you or me to be miserable in our hearts and in our lives. Are you willing to believe that? John 6:29 says “Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” Will you believe God? Will you believe all that He has in mind for you is true and right? I did. I have never been the same. And it really doesn’t matter whether I know the exact purpose for every single last thing or not. I know that where I am, the job I’m in, and the life I live is where God wants me to be. I know that my heart in all these things is what God cares about the most. Should I have quit everything and become a missionary when I realized how awesome God was? No, I was meant to be engineer, working in the work place and shining his light to those that may never step into a church.

God has an awesome plan for your life. (Jeremiah 29:11) Will you follow it? Follow it today. Will you lay down those voices and beliefs that hinder you? Be transformed today.