Sorry I've been so absent lately, friends. But the first week of the semester is officially over, and schedules are set and things are full speed ahead!
I'm loving my classes so far (History & Analysis of Music, Proofs, piano, ear training, accompanying, online geology, online travel and tourism management) but I haven't had my lab yet. I have a feeling that's going to be the deal-breaker of the semester. But no complaints here!
Ahhh guys life is so good! I cannot explain to you God's faithfulness and awesomeness. I wish you could understand, but I do pray that you will be able to experience it also. I know that's vague and random but dude it's so true! No matter what happens in my life, whether it has to do with classes, friends, BCM, hanging out, studying, reading, piano, life in general, God is always good and I can glorify Him in everything! How cool is that?
Gosh I really wish I were more eloquent so I could portray to you the greatness of our God, but to put it simply, no words can contain Him. His love and mercy and power and wonder speak for itself. And it is so good.
Peace&Love, y'all.
&
"Do not grow weary in doing good."
2 Thessalonians 3:13
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Jesus First, Jesus Always.
So it's the beginning of the year 2013 and I immediately went back to look and see if I had made any resolutions last year. Turns out I did. I'm pretty, well, disappointed from the perspective that I didn't accomplish all of them (or most of them really). Granted, they were "Semester Resolutions" but I didn't make new ones for fall, so I guess they stuck around. Here they are:
1. Love people
2. Read the Word every day and spend quality time with God instead of just mindlessly skimming the pages
3. Be diligent when things get a little bit harder - don't give up or switch gears, but KOKO (Keep on keepin' on)
4. Bring a friend to Christ
5. Live a life God can be proud of
6. Eat breakfast every day
7. Leave a legacy - make my life count, and do it all for the glory of God
8. Put school work before fun things (this will be hard)
9. FINISH my homework before midnight (also hard)
10. Learn a new skill
I will say this: that even though I didn't necessarily "succeed" 100% on all of these, I think that I was useful to growing the Kingdom of God by His grace and power, and not because of my silly goals.
But just for funsies, I did accomplish #1 (mostly - I'm still learning a lot about mercy), #6, #9 (mostly), and #10.
I tried to love my friends, I always eat breakfast, I was really good about getting my homework done in time to go to bed (which was 11 on a good/normal night), and I've learned/am learning to play the violin.
But here's the thing: the reason that I did NOT accomplish these things is because I was LAZY and SELFISH. Which are both grotesque to God. That, I think, is my one overarching resolution for 2013 - DON'T BE LAZY. My wonderful roommate has a verse stuck to her bookshelf (which I see every day before I leave the room) that has Romans 12:11 on it, which says, "Never be lazy, and serve the Lord enthusiastically." Slap. In. The. Face.
So I've come to a lot of conclusions, which is appropriate the for the end of a year and the start of another. One is that I need to do a lot of work conditioning my insides before I commit myself to "full time ministry" (aka taking the Gospel to the nations as opposed to living it where I am right now). There are several reasons why I've been thinking about this: Americans are probably not the type of people Jesus would be hanging out with. Yes, we are LARGELY sinners, but we live in excess and Jesus cared about loving the outcasts. Here in 'Murica, we think we're something. We think very highly of our country and assume people are jealous of us. Check your pride at the door (and I don't just mean you, I mean me, Katie Leachman). The Great Commission - the work that Jesus commissioned us to do as His disciples and followers until the end of time on earth - is to GO and make disciples of ALL NATIONS baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and TEACH them to obey all that I have commanded you. Oy. So naturally I want to go because I'm sick of our culture. But then I realized that this desire I have needs to be cultivated into something beautiful and useful to God, because He did put it there for a reason. But since then He's shown me how I need to grow myself and my community and those I come in contact with on a daily basis before I can be ready and fully equipped to move across the country and love people and serve people and meet needs and share the love of Jesus there. Because I'm called to do it everywhere that I am, and that, like just about anything, starts at home.
So now, while Jesus is always right, and is always my everything, I need to be obedient to working on improving myself - my heart, my mind, my body, my spirit. I do want my life to be honoring and pleasing to God.
I am convicted that I am a sinner, doomed to fail because I will never EVER be able to measure up to meet the standards of a perfect God - my perfect King. But I will continually accept His love and grace and mercy poured out on me by the perfect blood of Jesus Christ. Because of Jesus, I can fail over and over and over again, and I definitely will! But I will not be afraid to fail. I will only be faithful. I will accept grace, and I will show grace. In everything I do I will pray for a mind and a discipline that is always looking to work hard in the name of Jesus, and never be lazy. I will fail at this too. But God will lift me out because Jesus already took the hit for it. I am so undeserving, but so grateful beyond words that my SAVIOR humbled himself to torture and death for me, so I could live in freedom from sin to do HIS glorious work for the Kingdom of God. My words do not do it justice. God is so good. Jesus is so wonderful. God is here and He is faithful. He is love.
With that, however, I do want to "plan" or "resolve" to do some things this year:
1. Love people
2. Read the Word every day and spend quality time with God instead of just mindlessly skimming the pages
3. Be diligent when things get a little bit harder - don't give up or switch gears, but KOKO (Keep on keepin' on)
4. Bring a friend to Christ
5. Live a life God can be proud of
6. Eat breakfast every day
7. Leave a legacy - make my life count, and do it all for the glory of God
8. Put school work before fun things (this will be hard)
9. FINISH my homework before midnight (also hard)
10. Learn a new skill
I will say this: that even though I didn't necessarily "succeed" 100% on all of these, I think that I was useful to growing the Kingdom of God by His grace and power, and not because of my silly goals.
But just for funsies, I did accomplish #1 (mostly - I'm still learning a lot about mercy), #6, #9 (mostly), and #10.
I tried to love my friends, I always eat breakfast, I was really good about getting my homework done in time to go to bed (which was 11 on a good/normal night), and I've learned/am learning to play the violin.
But here's the thing: the reason that I did NOT accomplish these things is because I was LAZY and SELFISH. Which are both grotesque to God. That, I think, is my one overarching resolution for 2013 - DON'T BE LAZY. My wonderful roommate has a verse stuck to her bookshelf (which I see every day before I leave the room) that has Romans 12:11 on it, which says, "Never be lazy, and serve the Lord enthusiastically." Slap. In. The. Face.
So I've come to a lot of conclusions, which is appropriate the for the end of a year and the start of another. One is that I need to do a lot of work conditioning my insides before I commit myself to "full time ministry" (aka taking the Gospel to the nations as opposed to living it where I am right now). There are several reasons why I've been thinking about this: Americans are probably not the type of people Jesus would be hanging out with. Yes, we are LARGELY sinners, but we live in excess and Jesus cared about loving the outcasts. Here in 'Murica, we think we're something. We think very highly of our country and assume people are jealous of us. Check your pride at the door (and I don't just mean you, I mean me, Katie Leachman). The Great Commission - the work that Jesus commissioned us to do as His disciples and followers until the end of time on earth - is to GO and make disciples of ALL NATIONS baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and TEACH them to obey all that I have commanded you. Oy. So naturally I want to go because I'm sick of our culture. But then I realized that this desire I have needs to be cultivated into something beautiful and useful to God, because He did put it there for a reason. But since then He's shown me how I need to grow myself and my community and those I come in contact with on a daily basis before I can be ready and fully equipped to move across the country and love people and serve people and meet needs and share the love of Jesus there. Because I'm called to do it everywhere that I am, and that, like just about anything, starts at home.
So now, while Jesus is always right, and is always my everything, I need to be obedient to working on improving myself - my heart, my mind, my body, my spirit. I do want my life to be honoring and pleasing to God.
I am convicted that I am a sinner, doomed to fail because I will never EVER be able to measure up to meet the standards of a perfect God - my perfect King. But I will continually accept His love and grace and mercy poured out on me by the perfect blood of Jesus Christ. Because of Jesus, I can fail over and over and over again, and I definitely will! But I will not be afraid to fail. I will only be faithful. I will accept grace, and I will show grace. In everything I do I will pray for a mind and a discipline that is always looking to work hard in the name of Jesus, and never be lazy. I will fail at this too. But God will lift me out because Jesus already took the hit for it. I am so undeserving, but so grateful beyond words that my SAVIOR humbled himself to torture and death for me, so I could live in freedom from sin to do HIS glorious work for the Kingdom of God. My words do not do it justice. God is so good. Jesus is so wonderful. God is here and He is faithful. He is love.
With that, however, I do want to "plan" or "resolve" to do some things this year:
- Learn another new skill, but something crafty. It is yet to be determined, but I would really like to learn how to make a quilt and also how to knit. I would also like to learn how to snowboard, but I don't have as much control over that as I do learning how to knit.
- I want to be disciplined with what I eat and how I exercise. I won't bore you with my detailed plan, but I will be making one and trying to keep up with it.
- I want to read more/every day. I had a goal to finish reading the Bible by the end of this year, but I didn't quite cut it so now I'd like to finish it before Winter Break is over for me. Beyond that, however, I would like to read more in general.
- This is going to sound weird, but I would like to not get on facebook every day. Or only once a day. I admit, I have a problem with being on far too often.
- Obviously do well in my classes.
- Pass continuation.
- Make new friends but keep the old.
- Pray for myself, for my friends and family, for people I know or have come in contact with, my school, the BCM, missionaries, brothers and sisters in other countries, countries who don't hear the Gospel, people who haven't heard the Gospel, people who reject the Gospel, and people who are persecuted because they are not ashamed of the Gospel.
I know this was a lot, but I'm brainstorming.
P.S. I got to spend the New Year with 2 of my best friends already, and I am incredibly thankful for that! This will be an exciting year for many reasons, but I'd like to just take it day by day. (: Because God is good all the time, and His mercies are new every morning. I could not be more thankful for that!
&
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