Again with the craziness... but I absolutely adore it :) Went to church on Sunday and this week we'll find out what church we're going to for the rest of the summer. I went to the beach with my roommates and took a nap in the sunshine which was just incredible. We had our first Impact Dinner (a boys Bible study meeting with a girls Bible study). It was so fun! We all got to know each other really well and laughed a lot while eating delicious pizza at a local place. Also.... drum roll.... we won the House of Fame contest! It's a weekly contest we have for cleanest room. You win this giant silver horn which is a trophy of sorts. It's called The SCHOCC. ("Shock" Silver Horn of Cleanliness Celebration). We have placed it on a shelf with pride and hope to win it every week. What an honor haha....
I'm having such a good time and I can't express to you how much the Lord is working in my heart... I just want to make sure I'm not "wasting" project. I want to be working for the Lord with my job as well as making sure I have alone time with Jesus to process all of this awesomeness I'm going through. It's a crazy schedule but what wonderful practice! Because I know that as I get older, I'm probably going to have less free time.
Monday was my first official day of work and I'd say it went well! It was extremely chaotic and it's a lot to remember. Plus the people I work with are not exactly rays of sunshine but God wants me to be light to them which I will absolutely try my hardest to do :)
Ok then my favorite talk of Project happened on Monday. Jan and Jim Sylvester are here this week and they have been project directors with Cru for over thirty years. Jan spoke during our women's time and it was just so convicting.
She talked about how when we are Christians, we have a new identity. But how do we really LIVE in that new identity? What a practical question. We have been trained so well as performers. We can easily make people believe everything is ok in our lives just by the way we act. But the change needs to happen in the center of our hearts, not as a performance.
Proverbs 23:7 blew my mind. It says "...for he is the man who is always thinking about the cost..." meaning that how I SEE myself is how I project who I am.
She talked about hurts in our lives and how those hurts enact this profound wounding process that creates lies on our head. For example, your dad is abusive. How would that affect how you view other people, yourself, and the Lord? You would think you are never worth it, you wouldn't trust people or let them in, and think that God might be controlling just like that man in your life.
The Devil's lies are based on wounds in our life. He knows how to control us; when we're at our weakest point; and what fears we have. As you grow, these lies become foundational and just what you know as normal. They define us. Limit us.
So we have to ask Jesus- "Where have I been wounded? What lies am I believing about You, others, and myself?"
We have to capture Truth, do it, and believe it. We have to train ourselves to filter our own thoughts and be filled with the Spirit instead of sin. Those pains and lies in our lives are twisted. That's not how God talks to you so don't talk to yourself like that.
We have to RECOGNIZE wrong thinking. REJECT this thinking. And REPLACE the lie with God's truth.
Only God tells me who I am.
I've given so much of myself and my life to the Enemy and I have to take it back by force.
So the summary thought I've been having in my head since I've been here is that I want nothing more than to be a woman of the Lord. That's what I'm clinging to and that's what I'm focused on. I am who I am because I belong to the Heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit makes me competent.
How freeing is that???
That was a bit of an overkill with writing but I just want the whole world to know that we are who we are because of Christ and nothing else.
Today is my day off and I'm meeting with that speaker Jan to just hear more Truth; meeting with my discipler; date night with Jesus tonight; then prayer and praise. I can't think of a better way to spend a day. Unless I got to see all of YOU today as well :)
Know that I am praying for each and every one of you individually and that the Love of Christ is magnificent enough to cover all of us and all of our sins. So good.
Much love :)
