Eternal Value

Well, it's been awhile since my last post.  I skipped right over Thanksgiving, but it was wonderful!  It was such a blessing to be able to go home for over a week.  I'm now counting down until Christmas break.  At this time, 9 days from now, I will either be getting my butt kicked in solitaire by Seth, watching Alfred Hitchcock movies with mom and dad, or making up dances with Kate. :) That's motivation enough to get me through the next week and a half of nothing but projects, tests, and finals.  With that being said, I can't believe that Christmas is less than a month away!  The holidays are such an exciting, fun time.  While I wish that I was getting in the Christmas spirit with the rest of my family back home, I do have to say that Samford is quite festive around Christmas time.  One of the perks of going to a Christian university is getting to decorate campus for Christmas.  Here's a little preview. :)

Right outside of the library

I think it's pretty obvious that the holidays spark one of two responses in people.  It either adds joy or causes deep sadness.  I don't know why, but for whatever reason, I've been extra aware of this, this Christmas season.  It's heart-wrenching to think about the reasons people may have for sadness over the holidays.  Whether it's loss of a loved one, family division, sickness, financial burdens, etc., a deep sadness is hard to disguise.  It's obvious in people on my campus, it's obvious in Birmingham, and I'm sure it's obvious wherever you live too.  I can't think about these people for too long, because I really will start crying (don't ask me why, but I seem to cry over the littlest things these days).  It makes me sad because the root of all this sadness, in my opinion, is a feeling of hopelessness.  I mean really, is there anything worse than feeling hopeless?  I doubt there is.  I thought about these things for a long while earlier today.  I began to think of times in my life that I've felt hopeless, the most recent being that I have too many tests to study for, in too little time.  I was then reminded of something that David Platt said in his message this past Sunday, which was, "our circumstances should never determine our ability to be joyful."  Well duh, right?  This is something that I think as Christians we know in our heads, but do we really know this in our hearts? This sermon was awesome, by the way.  If you're bored and would like some encouragement, go listen to it on the Brook Hills website.  I promise, you won't regret it!  It's called "The Cross-Centered Life."  It's all about how the ONLY hope and peace we have in this world is in Jesus, and isn't that true?  Honestly, I can think of many times in my short lived life that I would've probably just given up, had it not been for the hope I have in Jesus.  

I'm going to quit rambling now, but all of that to say that I've come to a conclusion.  I think as Christians, we have no choice but to choose joy this Christmas season, no matter what our circumstances may be.  People aren't looking for us to have our lives totally figured, they are wanting to know how we'll react when our circumstances are anything but glamorous.  There's no better time for Christ to magnify his strength and power in our lives, than when we let HIM determine our attitude and actions, rather than our circumstances.  Let's rejoice in the love of Christ this Christmas and show those who really do have no hope that there IS hope, all they have to do is ask and receive it.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!

"Chi Omega Empire State of Mind"

This past Friday was Chi Omega's formal.  The theme was "Chi Omega Empire State of Mind" (from the song "Empire State of Mind" by Alicia Keys and Jay-Z for anyone who's bored and wants to listen).  It was in downtown Birmingham at the historic Alabama Theatre.  It was a lot of fun! We had a delicious dinner and then we danced!  Here's a few pictures. :)

My date, Adam and I.

Blake, Kate, Me, Adam

My friend, Kate.

The stage we all danced on.

Outside of the theatre

Tact.

Disclaimer:  This blog is for my family and select few friends who are interested in the details of my life.  I'm not a fabulous, interesting writer, and I don't claim to be.  The grammar will often be wrong and plain embarrassing, but hey, I'm a college student, and I don't want this to be one more thing I have to proofread. :)  I simply want people who I don't get to communicate with every day and those outside of the facebook world to have a way to keep up with what I'm doing.  I also plan to use it as an outlet to show what God is doing in my life.  With that being said, close this window and never open it again, or enjoy!

Well, this semester has been incredible in many ways.  God has truly blessed me, and I am so grateful.  I have faced very few obstacles and have experienced joy and blessing at nearly every turn.  I have been fortunate enough to experience friendships that are deep, meaningful, and based off a solid spiritual foundation.  I'm constantly being loved on, encouraged, and challenged. God has truly answered my prayers in this department.  I've also faced academic success this semester and have been able to see the benefit and fruit of diligence and hard work.  The list could honestly go on and on.  Trust me, I realize that for whatever reason, God has looked upon me with favor, and I am eternally in debt to Him.

However, with that being said, there are obviously still things that I struggle with on a day to day basis.  The most recent being, the great JOY of living with a roommate in far too small of a space.  As my mom and dad know, I have been a little frustrated (huge understatement) with my roommate recently.  If you are a human living in this world, which I assume all of you are, you are well aware that people can be selfish, inconsiderate, and extremely unaware.  By the way, I'm not excluding myself from this list.  However, I feel like I try to make an effort most days to be aware that I share a room with another person, I try to be considerate, and I try to be aware.  As of late, I'm not sure that my roommate remembers I'm even alive. Can you sense the frustration? Surely not. :) 

All that to say, God has such a sense of humor, and I love it.  As I sat down to do my Bible study before bed tonight, all I could do was ask God to help me love my roommate.  Yall, this alone was a BIG deal...everything inside of me was screaming, eat all of her food, put all your stuff on HER side of the room, etc.  I'm doing Beth Moore's "Daniel" study right now, which by the way, I'm on week 2 and am already obsessed.  Anyways, she was showing how Daniel used tact in approaching a man attempting to take his life (Daniel 2 for those of you who care to read).  She goes on to say...

Tact.  We could all use an extra dose...but no one more than Christians.  Not because we're worse than everyone else but because so much is at stake!  Why in the world would we want to risk the reputation of Christ?  Hopefully the shoe of tactlessness doesn't fit you.  And if it doesn't fit, don't wear it.  At the same time, let's be aware that a number of Christians may have earned all of us a bad reputation.  The shoe sits shiny and ready on the shelf whenever we feel impatient or bothered.  If we're going to fight the temptation to put it on, we'll need to recognize that we're never more tempted to be rude than when we think someone deserves it.  

The next question... When was the last time you wanted to respond to someone with rudeness?

Really God...How's that for some conviction?  By the way, my answer was, RIGHT THIS VERY SECOND.  Coincidence? Absolutely not.  That was exactly what I needed to read, and God knew I was in need of some serious encouragement.  Let us all be reminded of the truth that no matter how frustrated or annoyed we are, we represent something much bigger and more important than ourselves.   

Colossians 4:6, "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."

Hopefully someone else will be encouraged by these words.  Sorry that my first post was so deep...I promise they won't always be like this.  Love you all.  Thanks for reading. :)

- Lauren