More Than Fine

It's an easy trap to fall into. Someone asks you how you are and it just comes naturally. Fine. I'm not judging you for it. In fact, I am the queen of being "fine". But really? Fine? 

I love driving because it gives me time to think. The trip from Texas to Alabama really gives me time to think. As many of you know I gave up secular music for lent, so it's been me and my Jesus tunes for a few weeks now. I'd recommend you all try listening to only Christian music for a few days because you really will see a change in the way you think and feel and perceive things. Hence this blog. 

One of my favorite songs is More Than Fine by Switchfoot. It's lyrics are simple but profound.

... More than fine, more than bent on getting by, 

more than fine, more than just okay...

Think of it like this. We all sin. We continuously do the things we know we should not do and yet, through all of this, we have a God who loves us SO much that he sent his one and only son to die for us. His son suffered the most painful death all so that we may live full and happy lives. So that we may work and find love and have children and make friends and enjoy all of the wonderful things this world he created for us has to offer. 

Then, as if that weren't enough, he has promised us everlasting life in heaven. Life where all of our troubles will be behind us and we will have countless days to spend getting to know the millions of other people just like us who love Jesus. We will have thousands of days to spend doing whatever we like, whatever we want, whatever we could dream of. We don't even know what it will be like because our amazing savior has promised that it will be all of our greatest hopes and desires and more. We cannot even imagine how awesome it is going to be. 

So I ask you again, how are you today? I hope from the bottom of my heart you are more than fine. No matter how big your problems are, always remember how Big your God is and your problems will shrink away and you can once again be more than fine. 

—side note

If you have a few dollars I have three songs to recommend. 

1. More than Fine by Switchfoot

2. Never Going Back to OK by The Afters

3. Only The World by Mandisa

I Am So Glad You Gave

19 years. 

I've been on this earth for nineteen years and it never clicked. I never connected the dots. I am 1000% guilty of giving with expectation. Expectation of receiving. Expectation of thanks. Expectation of praise. Expectation defeats the purpose of the spirit of giving. 

I have truly experienced giving on a few occasions. I remember a time I paid for the person in the drive-through behind me. I was alone, and I paid for them. I did not expect them to come and thank me, or even know who I was. I did not expect anyone to praise me, as I was alone in the car. I did not expect someone to, in turn, pay for me. Words cannot explain how great it felt. Knowing I had shown Jesus' love to an unsuspecting stranger. 

"You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" -Acts 20:34-35

I challenge you to give today without expectation. Try to embody what it means to be truly generous. I am setting giving goals in my life. I have been so blessed with a wonderful family and friends and anything I could hope to own. I have lived in great environments and experienced some of life's great pleasures. So I've made a list of things that I can give. Pieces of me that I will one day be able to replace, things that I can do without, things that I have ready access to. And this year I am going to give them away. I want to truly experience God's best in my life, and I think that giving is a huge part of that.  I also truly believe that, through the giving, I will receive more than I could have ever expected. I will be fulfilled. 

... when you live and give without expectation, you truly have nothing to lose and no one to be disappointed by.

By His Wounds We Are Healed

I see it every day. It's presence is unwavering, a constant reminder of what was and what is no longer. That green bracelet, inscribed with her initials, says so much in its silence.

One year. 52 weeks. 365 days. 

It's remarkable how quickly a year can pass. How many events can fly by, how many people you can meet, how many memories you can make. It's amazing how little I remember of certain things that happened in this past year. There is one day, however, one series of events I will never forget. 

Healing is something that is different for each person. Different methods. Different time spans. It looks different for each person. It's a beautiful thing, and it's a God thing. He teaches so much through the healing. 

Today will be a day of prayer for me. Prayer for her family. Prayer for her friends. Prayer for her community. Prayer for the Auburn family. She had such a beautiful spirit and touched so many lives through her life and through her death. She will never be forgotten. 

God, tonight I pray that you will lay your hand upon all of the people who are hurting. Hurting for Lauren, hurting because of Lauren, hurting in spite of Lauren. She would have wanted us to be happy and to enjoy the beautiful world you have created for us to live in, but it's tough. I pray that you will show us your great plan and that you will use her life as a testament to your will. I rest assured knowing people are coming to know you because of her death, but I also hurt for those who are questioning you and wondering why you took her from this earth so early. God, today I pray for wisdom, I pray for peace, I pray for unity and I pray for healing. And I pray that Lauren is up there with you seeing the legacy she left and all of the people who she touched. Amen.