I'm Moving...

THis blog is being moved to WordPress. I know... I know. I can already hear your "sighs" and "ahs" of disappointment. The truth is that I wanted a new blog because I'm moving into a very NEW part of my life. The new blog is located at:

seeellegrow.wordpress.com

Check it out. Thanks to all my followers! I appreciate the love.

everybody needs a ridiculous laugh

Be Still and KNOW that He IS God.

I recently got accused of being crazy by my mother. Perfect. As if my mother has any room to talk. Either way, I started thinking about why, specifically, she was making such accusations. The truth (and let's face it, no one really likes the truth) is that I'm going through some huge transitions in my life right now. I'm getting ready to graduate, I'm trying to find a job, I'm in a serious relationship that has several serious decisions attached, I'm still trying to decide where I fit into this "culture" of faith, and all the while I'm working through an internship for academic credit, paying rent and bills every month on my own, and trying desperately to tie up whatever loose ends I can before I move out of the Bible Belt and into the Big Bad World.

Whew.

All that to say: I'm not crazy, I'm just ANXIOUS.

I started thinking about it though, and I realized that I'm not really "stressed" or "anxious" about any of these particular life-changing events. Honestly, I'm so open and willing to God's plan for my life that I'm not super concerned about my future or what it holds. I am truly trusting that God has a plan and a purpose for my life, and whatever that is, He will reveal it to me and work it out for me at His perfect time. Really, in all of this, I'm so concerned about the decisions that I have to make about my future affecting my openness to God's plan that I'm missing out on His blessing. Okay, let's break that down.

The parable of the ten virgins... the basic idea is that there were ten virgins, all pure and without blemish, waiting for the bridegroom in the night. Five of the virgins brought extra oil for their lamps, five didn't. The five without extra ran out and had to leave their place of waiting to go find more oil. Long story short, they missed the bridegroom. I feel like I'm running around so frantic about having enough oil, that I'm missing out on the bridegroom right now. I'm so stressed trying to make myself available to God's plan that I'm missing out on the blessings that He has for me NOW. Its stupid, and when I look at it all now, I feel foolish. In fact, I feel as ridiculous as the woman in this picture looks. LOL... But the truth is that many, many Christians struggle with this same problem. I feel like most Christians that I talk to today all have the same undertone in their speech, and the same look on their faces, much like I imagine the woman in this picture screaming, "AM I MISSING SOMETHING HERE?!?"

As my director and authority figure, Dr. Brad Moffett, says often, "The biggest sin in the church today is busyness." And its so true. We have allowed ourselves to be so busy and wound so tight trying so hard to do God's work, that we miss the work He wants to do on us. I'm reminded of what the Psalmist said in Psalms 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the Earth." What a concept. To sit back, shut up, chill out, and let God be God. Rest in the fact that He is who He says He is... that He will be praised whether we stress ourselves out or not... He will be exalted whether we run ourselves ragged trying to make it happen or not. Be still and KNOW that He IS God. Amen.

Freedom

I’ve been singing this song for months. The chorus is literally only one word: freedom. The verses say things like, “I wanna clap a little louder than before, I wanna sing a little louder than before…” Of course the congregation usually does the “motions” associated with each of the commands and youth tend to really love the song because it talks about being free, which is something everybody loves, and because it’s a high energy song. All the time I’ve been singing the song, I’ve interpreted it to mean that we want to praise God more than we have in the past because He has made us free by His son’s death and we can live in freedom knowing that we’re able to spend eternity with Him. Until now.

I was reading Donald Miller’s “Searching For God Knows What” and Miller addressed this idea. He took a long time and a lot of pages to tell a story about a circus and his experience with the circus and how in any group of people, a hierarchy is developed and someone is deemed more valuable than the other, etc. But what he ultimately got down to was the idea that humans take too much time and put too much emphasis on the external “praises” of people. We wear Prada and carry Coach bags to prove that we are in style and have money. We dye our hair and style it every morning to look like Paris Hilton, whom of course is setting the latest and greatest trend. We value ourselves based on how the world and culture deems us valuable. But its all material. It’s not eternal.

Miller reminds us of David’s dancing before the Lord. David ripped his cloths off, ran out into the public street, and started dancing for God. Today, he would’ve been escorted away by uniformed officers and paid hefty fines for public indecency, and his social life would most likely cease to exist. The point is, though, that David didn’t care what people thought of him. He didn’t care that his wife was embarrassed and that people were staring at him. He didn’t care that there was talk about the incident later or that some might’ve thought him crazy. Why? Because David valued himself based on the value that God stamped on him, and God thought he was awesome.

As humans, we are at the disposal of our environment and culture a lot. We are drawn into “fitting in” not necessarily because we want to or feel like we have to, but because we could be institutionalized if we don’t. But the ultimate “freedom” comes from our acknowledgment of God’s love for us and knowing that He values us so much more than the world ever will, or could. That’s why the song says, “I wanna jump a little higher than before, I wanna scream louder.” Its because the writer of this song knew that his or her freedom came from knowing God’s love and acceptance, and wanted to emphasize the fact that we don’t have to care what other people are thinking about us, because we were created to praise.

So do it. However you want. Praise. In the freedom bestowed by God’s value for you, praise Him. Clap louder, jump higher, love and worship Him more. You’re free because He loves you, regardless of the world’s thoughts.

Feelings: What Does That Mean?

I'm about to graduate college. I will graduate with a degree in Public Relations from Lee University, a wonderful liberal arts university with well known accreditation. I should be prepared for the world and whatever is "next". I should have an idea of what I'm going to do. I should feel confident in whatever lies ahead.

But I'm not.

I have no earthly idea what I'm going to end up doing when I'm done here. In fact, I'm so freaked out about it, that I'm actually considering taking graduate classes in a subject I'm only vaguely interested in just so I can stay on my parents' insurance and remain in the "incubator", so to speak. If you ask most of my friends about their post graduate plans, their answers are as few, far and in between as mine. No one knows what they're doing. None of us. So that leads me to the question of purpose. I feel (used as the loose term that it is)... I feel called into some sort of ministry. But then all my professors talk all the time about how our entire lives are ministry and that no matter what career path I choose, there is a mission field awaiting me. But when I say ministry, I mean in some traditional sense, be it a church or African village, I am called to minister one-on-one to people somewhere. I also feel called to minister with music. I know that God has given me a talent vocally that is not to be overlooked.

These are all just feelings.

Then you ask, "So... why are you a PR major then? Why not music?" Yeah, I know. I ask myself that a lot too. But what I know is that if I majored in music, I would end up hating music, because I love the essence of music, not the technicality of music. I love the sound and the basic understanding for how that sound is made, not the rhetoric or logical construction of it. I can make a career for myself in PR and I will enjoy it. But I don't feel called to it. Oh, so many feelings, and no explanations. I'm restless, as are most of my peers, otherwise I'd be panicky. Regardless, I don't like restlessness. I want to simply "be" and "do" whatever God wants of me. I should call Him soon... He still hasn't returned my call about my life's outcome yet. Something about, "I know the plans I have for you..." or some junk. Ugh. Whatever. God. Sometimes I feel like He's rubbing it in my face that He knows everything and my little, puny human brain couldn't handle that kind of knowledge... hmmmmmm.

For The Record...

In light of this past weekend's pageant at Lee University, and my terrible impromptu question answer, I would like to set the record straight. My platform was: Education of Social Media in Middle and High School. My impromptu question: How does education of social media help high schoolers and middle schoolers developmentally? My answer was: "Uhhh..." So I want to start over for a minute and give the answer I wish I had given.

As many of you know, many high school and middle school students are already using social media technologies like Facebook and MySpace. They are searching for videos on YouTube and making comments on blogs on a daily basis. The important part of this use, however, is not the technology itself, but rather the social aspect of it. Its the communication that is happening between the student and whomever they are interacting with online that is crucial. This kind of interaction helps students develop important technological communication skills. Obviously, saying something in email can be very different than saying it in person. Unfortunately, this kind of miscommunication, academically referred to as abberent decoding, happens a lot and can lead to many painfully destructive issues in the business world and personal lives. Educating young adults on this specific kind of communication can help them to be better prepared to communicate effectively via tools like email and blogs. It helps them develop communication skills that they can carry with them into their personal and professional lives. Also, social media skills are becoming necessary for news intake. President Obama has begun the shift into social media use federally, and this shift is only the beginning of what is being referred to as the "groundswell" phenomenon, moving all media into social media. This is a generational movement and we need to help guide our young people through that shift effectively.

Okay. That's what I should've said. I'm sorry that I didn't do the platform justice. The fact is that this topic is hugely important. Europe has already begun implementing this topic into their education field. We need to keep up.

Reality vs. Perception

Sometimes reality and perception get mixed up... Sometimes I feel like its all a dream, until I run into the wall and realize... NOPE! The dishes are still waiting in the sink, the laundry didn't do itself, and I still have four papers to write before Monday. Ah, life. Hope this video brightens someone else's day as much as it did mine...