Communing with God

So it's been awhile, eh?

I think it's been awhile since my last post because I haven't been consistent in the in my relationship with Jesus lately. A lot, if not most, of my thoughts on this blog have to do with my walk with the Lord ... and well, I haven't really been growing lately. And I haven't been growing because I haven't been consistent in my walk. Therefore, no thoughts to blog about.

So here are a few thoughts I'd like to post ... and I'm hoping that writing 'em down will help motivate me to work on them a little harder.

I spoke at the Danville Middle School FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes/Anybodies) a couple weeks ago, and the following thoughts are what I shared with them. I admitted the same lack of motivation to them. I admitted that I am just not motivated to spend time with the Lord these days. And I don't know why. It is starting to weigh on me though ... or rather, Jesus is really starting to convict me about it.

So here's what I'm thinking ....

In light of my lack of motivation, I decided to think about why it's important to spend time with God ... and not just spend time with Him but spend quality time with Him - communing with Him.

Communing with God

Communion - "fellowship; interchange of thoughts or interests;

a state of giving and receiving."

Now that we know what communion is .... why is communing with God so important?

I'm gonna share 5 reasons with you.

In no way is this an exhaustive list, but it's a good start. :)

#1 - RELATIONSHIP

Communing with God means having a meaningful relationship with Him. When we become Christians, we develop a relationship with God. .... Think of your best friend. Think of any friend that you have. Can you be in relationship with them if you don't spend time with them?

#2 - THE GLORY OF GOD

Glory - "the highest degree of pleasure; satisfaction; pride."

As Christians, we should want to bring joy (or pleasure) to God. We should want Him to be proud of us. Don't you want God to be proud of you? I know I do! Being in relationship with God makes Him proud of us because we are living out the calling He placed on our lives. And that calling is, simply put, to live in relationship with Him. Communing with God satisfies His desire for us to be in relationship with Him.

#3 - ATTITUDE

I don't know about you, but when I don't spend time with God, the first sin that I fall into is having a bad attitude ... more specifically, being impatient ... with everything! I also don't live in joy because when I don't spend time with God, I lose my sense of purpose. My purpose in life is to be in relationship with Jesus Christ. When I do not spend time with Jesus, I lose my joy.

#4 - LACK PURPOSE

I've said it .... at least twice now.

Being in a relationship with Jesus is our purpose in life.

God created us to glorify Him. God created us so that we could be in relationship with Him and so that He could be in relationship with us. So when we don't spend time with Jesus, we have no reason to live - we have nothing to live for.

#5 - FIND GOD'S COMMANDS/PROMISES

When we spend time with God (read God's word and talk with Him), we know how He wants us to live. We know how to honor God with our lives. And when we know how to honor God, we know how to live out our purpose because honoring God is our purpose. We can also find God's promises and learn to hold on to them in good and bad times.

So what does all of this mean? Or rather ... how do we do this? How do we commune with God?

The first step???

Denying ourselves.

Then Jesus said to the disciples, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life."

Matthew 16:24-25

Whew! Now that's a load of conviction!!! "You must put aside your selfish ambition." Wow. 'Cause that's what it really boils down to ... and Jesus knows it. When I choose to be inconsistent in my walk with the Lord ... when I choose to watch a movie instead of reading my Bible or turn on my iPod instead of talking to God ... I am putting ON my selfish ambition rather than putting it ASIDE! Man. That's rough.

But that's what Jesus asks ... what He demands of us. What He demands of ME. That's what it takes to be His follower.

So it looks like I've got some work to do, huh?

Let's start over today ... right now.

Lord, help me put aside my selfish ambition and follow You with all my heart and mind and life! Be the center of me. Give me an undying passion for You. Be glorified in me!

Simple Joys :)

Yesterday, on my way to school, I saw a boy dancing while he was waiting for his bus to pick him up for school. It was the best thing I'd seen all week! And it got me thinking about simple things that bring me so much joy. So I decided to watch for simple joys throughout the day all day yesterday ... and here's what I observed. :)

On my way to school:

~ The boy dancing at the bus stop.

~ The way the sun and the clouds worked together to create another one of God's paintings in the sky! .... A piercing orange-colored sun beneath pink and purple clouds! Oh, it was gorgeous! A great way to start off the day! :)

~ Watching the leaves fall as I walked to class.

At after school:

~ Whishae grabbing my hand and holding it.

~ Whishae giving me a big smile.

~ Mathanael saying his Bible verse.

~ Helping little George with his math homework. He connected the dots to create his numbers, and after he finished, we raised our arms and shouted, "yeahhh!!!!"

~ Getting a huge hug from George.

~ Hearing the other leaders at after school say I was doing great things to help out with the crazy, little guy - George. He's a hyper, little 5-year-old who was new to after school this week.

At Kroger:

~ Standing and waiting for a hug from Emily when we met to pick up dinner and a movie.

~ Laughing with Emily.

None of these things are super extravagant or amazingly exciting to the everyday person, perhaps .... but they are most certainly simple joys that brought tremendous joy to my life yesterday!

Look for the simple joys in life! You will never go wrong!!!! Praise the Lord for His tremendous yet simple blessings! :)

Addin' to the Bucket!

MICAL'S BUCKET LIST (Not necessarily in this order) J

#1 - Hike through New Zealand!!!

#2 - Run a mini marathon.

#3 - Read through the Bible at least 3 times .... once in my NIV, once in a ESV, and once in my wide-margin NASB.

#4 - Learn to play bar chords on my guitar.

#5 - Take swing dancing lessons!

#6 - Marry an oober godly guy!

#7 – Have at least 4 kids and homeschool them.

#8 - Take a 3-day trip of silence and solitude!

#9 - Visit my sponsored child.

#10 - Read all of Mere Christianity.

#11 – Take a BBF trip to the Bosom Buddies Cottages in Canada with Emily!!!

#12 – Be a waitress.

Wanted: Jones Soda Bottles

Jones Soda! I am in need of Jones Soda bottles!

If you drink Jones Soda, keep your bottles ... and please let me have 'em!

If you're willing to give 'em up ... give me a call or shoot me an e-mail, and I'll pick 'em up from you! They are muchly needed and muchly appreciated!

Thanks, fellow blogger friends! :)

Braggin' about My Brother :)

My brother came home today. He goes to school in Evansville. And while he was home, he told my dad and me a story.

He went to a party on Friday night .... there was drinking. My brother doesn't drink. But his roommate drank a bit too much. Wes only stopped by for a few minutes ... to say hi to a friend. .... Shortly after they got back to their apartment, his roommate starts sobbing and telling Wes how awful his life has been, how bad things have happened, how hurt and lonely he had been. My brother didn't really know what to do or what to say .... but when his roommate talked about how lonely and unhappy he was, my brother started telling this guy about Jesus!!! Wes told me and my dad ... "As soon as he started talking about how lonely he was, I knew I had to talk to him about Christ." ... Wes got to share his testimony with his roommate on Friday night. When I asked him for the details ... "So what did you say?" ... he said ... "I just told him about my freedom in Christ. I always say things like, 'don't sweat it' to him, and I was able to tell him why I say that all the time. I told him I don't get worked up about things 'cause I have Christ in my life. I'm a happy, confident guy because I have Him." (Okay ... so that's not word-for-word ... but it's a pretty good paraphrase.) :) .... Wes also said that his roommate told him that he really appreciates Wes' friendship. And his roommate told him, nearly word-for-word .... "You're not only my friend, you're my role-model. I watch the way you live your life, Wes, and I try to live that way." .... Wow! What a compliment!!!!

Gosh. I was so proud of him! I AM so proud of him!!!! He's told more than one story about this kind of thing since he got into college a couple years ago. He's really grown in the Lord, and I am just so excited to get little glimpses of it here and there. :)

Really, the more I hear about all that he's accomplishing by his godly example ... the more I watch his consistency in character and dedication to the things he's passionate about and the discipline he has ... I want to be just like him. He has really grown up over the past few years, and I am incredibly proud of him. The more I think about it ... I'm with his roommate on this one!!!! Wes is more than my brother, he is one of my role-models too. :)

Precious Moments in My Heart's Desire

After school today at Eastside Church of the Nazarene.

I help out at after school every Wednesday and Thursday afternoon ... it's a program through Shepherd Community Center on the Eastside of Indianapolis.

These amazing kids from the inner city, along with my SoZo kids, are some of the greatest blessings of my life! I am so in love with them that I don't know what to do with myself!!!! ..... I live for after school! I live for SoZo time! God has given me such a passion for these kids and youth! He's given me such a passion for kids and teens in general! And I just can't contain myself anymore!!! :) I'm soooooo excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Alright ... all of that said .... I'm calming down ... but only a little. I want to share some moments at after school today because they are so precious to me. :)

I love when the kids yell my name .... "Miss Mical!!!!" .... when they come through the doors. I love when the kids say "Bye, Miss Mical!" as they leave after school each day. I love hugs from the kids.

But today, I got some extra precious blessings. :)

DeAndre is 8.

He has corn rows and the cutest little face in the world ... oh, and a smile to die for!

Today, as we sat down for Bible study, he saw me sit at a separate table, and immediately, he got up and said, "I'm gonna sit with Miss Mical." He grabbed his folder and his book bag and plopped down in the seat next to me.

I think my heart melted a little.

A little later, he said, "high five!" ... so I gave him a high five, and he smiled at me. Again ... this little guy has a smile that is priceless! He asked for a couple high fives this afternoon. Made me smile really big. :D And I think my heart melted even more. :)

I met a little girl named Whishae today. Yes ... her name is spelled just like that. I had to ask her a couple different times throughout the afternoon to make sure I got it right. I asked her how to spell it; I said it over and over to myself (and her). She is a gorgeous little girl and DeAndre's cousin. They bantered all afternoon. It was too funny to watch.

At the end of the day when she was leaving, I yelled after her and DeAndre ... "Bye, DeAndre! Bye, Whishae!" And she said, "you remembered!!" She was excited that I remembered her name and that I said it right. And for a little girl whom you just met about 2 hours earlier to get excited that you (Mical Masterson) know her name?? Oh! I was so excited!

Lastly, there is a little boy named Mathanael; he is 7. He has a mohawk and a broken arm from football. And yes, his name is Mathanael with an "M" instead of a "N." He goes by Mat. And today, he invited me to draw with him. We ended up tracing our hands and making a Thanksgiving turkey. (It's a bit early for that, but that's what he wanted to draw ... how could I say no?) He traced my hand, and I traced his. And he walked me through how to draw a face and the feathers, and then we colored our turkeys together. This simple invite was such a joy. I've got the picture hanging up on my bedroom wall.

Gosh. These kids are just too amazing! And our God is just beyond amazing for allowing me to love on them every week. Life is not life until you can work in your passion on a regular basis!!! And I'm praying that one day I can work in my passion day in and day out. Oh, what a blessing! I don't deserve these kids. I don't deserve my SoZo kids. But God's grace is just that amazing! Oh! My life is complete! :)

"Does he even grow facial hair?!"

I was on campus again yesterday, and I walked by this guy who was on his phone ... and I heard him say, "That was pretty much the most disgusting thing I've ever seen in my entire life." It made me laugh a little on the inside.

I passed him wondering what he could be talking about.

It made me think of a funny "overhearing a comment" story that Jesse Smith shared with me and Jared Wade and a group of us friends a while back. He said he was standing next to someone ... at a bank or the store or some place ... and all of a sudden he hears the guy in front of him say, "Well, that's what you get for having 9 kids!" .... I guess the guy said it fairly loud. And Jesse got the biggest kick out of it. Jesse is just hilarious anyway, and he's good at telling stories ... so the story was pretty funny. .... It's one of those "you had to be there" moments, but if you have a good sense of humor or you just laugh a lot, I'm sure you can find the humor in that ... and in my chuckling about the "disgusting thing ever" comment from the guy on the phone.

It just tickled my funny bone a bit ...

But the second comment I heard later in the day was better.

I was sitting in the campus center ... lots of people were passing by. I was reading a book when all of a sudden, I hear someone nearly yell, "Does he even grow facial hair?!" ... Again, I wondered what this girl could've been talking about. Ha! And I think I laughed out loud for that one.

So I wrote these two quotes down in my agenda and thought to myself, "I'm gonna blog about this." I just got a laugh out of 'em. Hope you do too.

Good times! :)

What Be Happenin' Wit Mical, Yo :)

I've posted this before ... but it's a new time and a new place of life ... so the answers will be different. And this time I stole it from EmilyWem. :)

Outside my window: is the best weather ever! Cool breeze, probably around 55 or 60 degrees. A street light and cars zooming by.

I am thinking about: how much I love my SoZo kids, how I am so excited Em is comin' home in 2 days, how I'm longing for someone I can't ever have, how tired I am of school and all its details, how much I am enjoying the weather and can't wait for 50 degrees everyday, and how excited I am that Jesus is Lord of my life and is carrying out Philippians 1:6 in my life. :)

I am thankful for: Emily Nicole Karas, Benjamin David Nilsen, Hannah Joy Baker, Tiffany Lorraine Coon, my mom and dad and Wes, the breeze I felt on my skin all day, the fact that I only have 12 weeks left of college, the gift of serving, teaching, loving, and encouraging my SoZo kids, the after school program at Shepherd, God's word, friendship, the kind of love that fulfills you (God's love), peace that only comes from the Lord, grace that is greater than all my sin, hope in Christ, security in Christ, sweet tea (it's my comfort drink) .... wow. I should really stop. I could go on forever. :)

From the kitchen: we've got dirty dishes and a fridge full of leftovers.

I am wearing: my favorite outfit in the world ... my huge scrub pants with comfy socks and my big Taylor sweatshirt. Fall has officially arrived! :D

I am creating: a 20th birthday/I love you/goodbye gift for my bosom buddy Emily, a three-week lesson for SoZo about what it means to have a teachable spirit, half-hearted writing assignments for school, opportunities to serve and encourage and love, and sweet tea just about every day.

I am going to: grow in Jesus, encourage people, and laugh loudly and often ... forever.

I am reading: my Bible, Wrestling Prayer, and a book called Spiritual Growth in Youth Ministry ... books for school should be in this list but oh wait .... ;) he he he. Okay, okay ... I'm working on actually reading for my classes. ;)

I am hoping: for motivation, a deeper passion for God and His heart, to work with kids/youth full time when I graduate, for a friendship to be completely restored, that I will let go of some bitterness I am harboring and of a longing that will never be mine, continued growth in Christ.

I am hearing: my dad watching Monday Night Football downstairs, crickets chirping outside my window, the wind rustling the leaves in the trees, the hum of my fan, the typing of my keyboard ..... oh, but the sound of the leaves rustling is by far my favorite.

Around the house: my mom is sleeping, my dad is watching football but most likely asleep on the couch, my brother is not here, I am camping out in my brother's room .... perhaps 'cause I miss him, perhaps 'cause the internet is hooked up in his room. :)

Some of my favorite things: sweet tea, friendship, laughing, smiling, singing, dancing, growing in Jesus, crocs, 50 degree weather, rain, sunsets, mountains, photos, sleeping in .... and I could go on forever and a day!

A few plans for the rest of the week: school, the after school program at Eastside, SoZo!!!!, hang out with friends, drink more sweet tea, encourage people, pray for the folks on my prayer list this week, finally get to see Emily, seek Jesus, Bible study, church at Calvary!, live, laugh, and love. :)

A Status that Wouldn't Fit in her Facebook Status Box

is not ready for Monday ... but she's pretty excited about a few things, so the week will be great!

#1 - Jesus is her Lord.

#2 - She's gonna be studying what it means to have a teachable spirit for the next month!

#3 - Her bosom buddy Emily is coming home on Wednesday (finally!).

#4 - SoZo is amazing, and she is in love with her youth!

#5 - She's got after school with some amazing inner city kids on Wednesday and Thursday afternoon.

#6 - She only has 12 weeks left of college!

#7 - She better stop now 'cause life is so good that she could go on forever.

.... Praise God for His faithfulness, grace, and joy!!! Have a great week, everyone! Live fully. Love deeply. Laugh loudly. 'Cause Jesus came so that we might have LIFE and have it ABUNDANTLY!!!! :D

Motivation, here I come!

I'm standing at a computer in the new campus center on IUPUI's campus. Today has been a real struggle. I am so tired of school. But not just tired of being in school ... almost to the point of totally dismissing all of my classes and doing just barely enough to get by.
Giving up is not an option.
Quitting when you're 12 weeks from graduation would be the lamest thing you could ever do.
The "you" being me.
So I will not give up.
But I do want to just slide by. I'm tired of trying. I'm tired of going to class. I'm tired of being a college student.

Some questions on my mind today ....
Why must I continue in a degree that I do not want?
Why couldn't I pass that silly test and be a college graduate who now teaches at a public middle school or high school ... loving on kids and helping them enjoy English?
Why do I lack so much motivation? And it's not just this semester ... it's been lacking for so long!

I've been thinking about this a lot lately ... my lack of motivation. And I'm tired. Ha! I'm tired of school, yes. But I'm tired of being tired of school!
So today ... starting right now ... I'm gonna work harder at finishing strong.
I don't want to do the bare minimum ... and I don't want to dread every second of class and every second of homework.
Today!
Today begins a new day!
I'm moving towards motivation!!!!

Ha! So why do you all care about my lack of motivation?
Oh wait! You don't. Or, well ... maybe you do. But why blog about it? Ha ha!
This post is simply for me!!!!
Maybe writing down my commitment to be motivated will help me do so!
Let's finish it up with a prayer, shall we?

Lord Jesus,
I need your help! I am so done! I am so over this thing called school. Yes, I want to be challenged. Yes, I want to work hard. But not towards a major that I don't want. Not toward classes like The History of Television that are completely pointless and boring. I'm just being honest here, Lord. :) Please give me the strength to persevere through these last 12 weeks of classes and tutoring and homework and commuting. 12 weeks, Lord! I'm almost done! Please help me live out Colossians 3:23 when it says, "Whatever you do work at it with all your heart as for the Lord and not men." Help this be true in my life. When I'm lacking motivation, help me remember this verse. It's been coming to mind lately, and although I don't like the conviction, I need it! So please keep bringing it! Help me, Jesus! Surround me. Motivate me. Give me joy in this season of my life. Thank you, Lord, for all that you do and all that you will do. I am so excited for the future even though I have no idea what you're gonna do. Thank you, Lord. Be glorified in me. Oh, please be glorified in me. I love you, Lord!