Freedom...

If you know me very well at all, you know that I am easily distracted.  Especially when I have an internet connection.  I don't watch T.V. shows on a regular basis, but I love watching educational YouTube videos.  Unfortunately, as fun as they are to watch, I don't always watch the most useful or applicable videos for what I am currently studying. (for example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADD7QlQoFFI)

Because I know that I am easily distracted, I have a program on my computer that blocks me from going to certain websites.  I can set it for a period of time for a list of specific sites.  When I have it turned on and attempt to go to one of these sites, I get the following screen:

The main message doesn't tell me that I'm blocked from the site.  It tells me I'm free from the site.

It doesn't always feel like freedom when I really want to visit the site and I can't access it.  But the thing is, I could choose to type in my password and access the site.  And I also have the freedom to choose not to do so.

For many people, they see religion as a jail, or a list of rules that you have to follow.  But it really isn't about that.  Religion is about being free from sin in Christ.

For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.  What then?  Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace?  By no means!  Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey-whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?

Romans 6:14-16

I always have the choice of returning to the old master, sin.  But I know that it leads to death.  In Christ, I have the opportunity to follow a new master, obedience.  I get to choose to obey, not because of a list of rules hanging over my head, but because I want to follow God.  

True freedom isn't a freedom to be thoughtless and completely careless, but a freedom of choice.  I get to choose which master to serve.  Who will I serve today?

Living in Reckless Abandonment for Jesucristo,

Jo

Learning Over Winter Break

1.)  My body naturally sleeps for nine hours a night.

My parents may tell you that I sleep for nine hours a day, but you get the point.  This winter break has allowed my body to catch up on some much needed physical rest.  While sleep is never something that I have in abundance during the semester, I can hope that I will be able to make it a higher priority and get more than the fiver or six hours/night I got last semester.

2.)  I don't like to deal with my emotions.

I know that it's important to not just stuff them down.  However, there were a few times over this break where I just needed to cry and go pray.  Mental and emotional stuff that I thought I had 'worked through,' came up and I realized I wasn't as 'over it' as I had originally thought.

I have to keep giving these struggles to God, because many of them are previous hurts that I haven't truly or entirely given to Him.


3.)  Resting is good for the soul.

As mentioned before, over this break I was able to take the time to find out how much sleep my body gets when I don't interrupt it with alarms.  With the right amount of sleep I have found that my brain works much better in terms of creativity and the time I spend with God is much more meaningful and worthwhile.  (I'm not saying that I was wasting the time I spent with God when I wasn't well rested.  I'm saying that I should have been more well rested in general.  God calls us to work, but He also calls us to rest).

4.) A little bit of Russian.

We'll see if it stays in my brain and if I can continue working on the language as I keep up with college classes and my part time job.

5.)  Making arts and crafts is great way to spend my day.

I've made clay things, painted a 3'x3' canvas, created a paper tree with an x-acto knife.  All of them have been a joy to make and been wonderful to pass along to people to decorate or use in their lives.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."  

Matthew 11:28-30

Lessons from a 77 Year Young Man

"Thank you, Lord, for this miserable day, because it is still one that you have made."  My grandfather said this in a prayer before a meal one day this week.  My parents and I were at his house to eat our dinner, as the icy rain in the morning had caused the power to go out for about seven and a half hours.  (My parents' house has electric heat and our stove is also electric, so we were there for supper.)

As a 77 year old veteran of the Korean War, who has been farming his entire life, my grandfather has seen his fair share of miserable days.  He has had 3 joints replaced and his hands are full of gout and arthritis but yet he still farms. He has raised 3 children and held many grandchildren.  He has shot a squirrel in my grandma's kitchen and lead many 4-H calves through the pasture with his kids and some of his grand kids.  He isn't a perfect man (he sometimes forgets to give my Grandmas Christmas or anniversary gifts), but he sure does know that he needs to be grateful for what he has.

Some people would hear what my grandfather said about God making a miserable day and say that he wasn't being grateful.  However, I think the fact that my grandfather was able and willing to state that the day had had miserable weather and still thank God for it is amazing.  You see, pretending like it had been good when it wasn't would be a lie.  Instead he acknowledged that the day had been gross, but was still thankful for the day of life that God had given him, despite the circumstances.

It's easy to be thankful for a warm house when the electricity comes back on after being off for most of the day.  It's easy to be thankful for sunshine and rain with rainbows.  It's simple to be thankful for your food.  But am I thankful for life itself?  God created me for a purpose on this Earth.  He loves me and gives me a lifetime of grace.  Am I thankful for that?

Each and every day is a gift.

This is the day the Lord has made.

We will be glad and rejoice in it.

Psalm 118:24 (NLT)