I know it has been close to an eternity since my last blog . . . well that may be exaggerating a bit, but it has been a really long time. Once again, life took over, and here I am today.
Now 90% back to being a Granburian (my term for the people who live in my lovely hometown), I am beginning to feel settled here. And, to my joy and surprise, it is really really nice to be back in many ways. Maybe it's something about the comfort and serenity of the countryside or the peaceful feeling of knowing I am where God wants me for this season or the new-found friendship I have formed with my parents. Whatever the reason, I am enjoying this year at home.
Speaking of blessings, I can truthfully say I LOVE MY JOB! The Brazos Pregnancy Clinic has great staff along with incredible volunteers and community support in its outreach to the women and men of this community experiencing crises pregnancies. It is so exciting to be kicking off the program I direct called SOZO in less than two weeks! What a great opportunity to go and share truth with young people in this community about relationships and health - and hopefully a few less will ever have need to set foot inside the Clinic doors for help later.
I could go on and on about all that has taken place since my move home, but I won't. I will end by giving praise to God for how good He is! This morning at church, He spoke to my heart and gave me a peace I have been seeking lately from Him. I have faith He will provide for my life in every way I need Him to at this moment if only I will surrender all my dreams, hopes, and desires to Him. It is not me who will better SOZO but Him . . . it is not me who will pave the way for my Peru trip but Him . . . it is not me who will decide whether I get into graduate school but him . . . and it is not me who will impact the world around me but Him through me.
I hope you can also come to see this truth.
Many blessings,
Natalie
"...whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Abandonment
Since my last blog I have graduated college, turned 21, and for the first time had to pay money for backing into another car. I am excited, peaceful, and expectant about the future all at the same time.
Tonight as I was packing up some of my stuff from my apartment, I came across unfinished ideas . . . never cooked through cookbooks . . . and Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls posters, brochures, etc. What do all these things have in common? - abandonment. I was forced to face the truth of my inconsistencies and my constant desire to move from one thing to the next, adding one task to the previous before the previous is even completed.
God used this to help me realize this is sometimes how I treat the tasks He gives me. At the beginning, I am focused, heading in the right direction. But many times as the journey gets longer, I become bored, fearful, or distracted, and I choose to pursue another task of my own that seems more fulfilling and comfortable than the one God gave me.
Another item I picked up as I packed was the book Radical by David Platt. I didn't even make it through the first chapter before I was even more convicted about how I have in some ways gotten off track. I cried a good cry and asked the Lord for forgiveness. I want to complete the task He has set before me, I want to "fight the good fight," I want to "finish the race."
I feel much more at peace now and ready to fulfill His plans for my life. I am more satisfied and able to enjoy the moment with less concern about the future.
Praying you my friends can find the same peace and joy!
Natalie
Tonight as I was packing up some of my stuff from my apartment, I came across unfinished ideas . . . never cooked through cookbooks . . . and Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls posters, brochures, etc. What do all these things have in common? - abandonment. I was forced to face the truth of my inconsistencies and my constant desire to move from one thing to the next, adding one task to the previous before the previous is even completed.
God used this to help me realize this is sometimes how I treat the tasks He gives me. At the beginning, I am focused, heading in the right direction. But many times as the journey gets longer, I become bored, fearful, or distracted, and I choose to pursue another task of my own that seems more fulfilling and comfortable than the one God gave me.
Another item I picked up as I packed was the book Radical by David Platt. I didn't even make it through the first chapter before I was even more convicted about how I have in some ways gotten off track. I cried a good cry and asked the Lord for forgiveness. I want to complete the task He has set before me, I want to "fight the good fight," I want to "finish the race."
I feel much more at peace now and ready to fulfill His plans for my life. I am more satisfied and able to enjoy the moment with less concern about the future.
Praying you my friends can find the same peace and joy!
Natalie
Sunday, May 1, 2011
How deep the Father's love for us . .
How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He would give His only Son
to make a wretch His treasure
~Stuart Townend
Woke up earlier than expected this morning due to the gloriously torrential rain, and this was the song playing like a broken record in my mind. I am so blown away by what this song says. I am that "wretch" in the song - the imperfect, constantly struggling, self-centered daughter who Christ has graciously saved for no reason other than His deep love.
Yesterday I attended a tea party with both international and American students. While we sipped Lara's out-of-this-world Chai tea, we discussed the differences in marriages across the world: how partners are chosen, wedding traditions, the wedding vows, and the Christian view of true love.
It amazes me how much I can hear that my Savior loves me, but I do not truly understand it or put its magnitude into perspective. As I was talking with one of my good friends from China while we enjoyed seconds of some delicious chicken salad, I had the opportunity to better explain the concept of unconditional love. Funny, how when explaining something to someone else it becomes more real and evident in your own mind. I described to her that unconditional love is the love God has for us in the same manner a good parent loves his child. I know firsthand how awful I, even as an adult, can sometimes act towards my parents, yet still, no matter what I say or do, they love me and want the best for me.
In this same way God loves me - oh so often (and definitely more than I would like to admit) I run from Him, struggling many days to diligently pick up my cross and follow Him. At the same time, I find myself so easily running into His arms when things get tough. He ALWAYS loves me and embraces me when I return - rejoicing and taking me in but at the same time reprimanding me and pointing me in the direction I need to go. He loves me beyond my comprehension of love - with unconditional love.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Praying you will one day understand and appreciate the unconditional love Christ has to offer you if you do not know His love already!
Many blessings,
Natalie
How vast beyond all measure
That He would give His only Son
to make a wretch His treasure
~Stuart Townend
Woke up earlier than expected this morning due to the gloriously torrential rain, and this was the song playing like a broken record in my mind. I am so blown away by what this song says. I am that "wretch" in the song - the imperfect, constantly struggling, self-centered daughter who Christ has graciously saved for no reason other than His deep love.
Yesterday I attended a tea party with both international and American students. While we sipped Lara's out-of-this-world Chai tea, we discussed the differences in marriages across the world: how partners are chosen, wedding traditions, the wedding vows, and the Christian view of true love.
It amazes me how much I can hear that my Savior loves me, but I do not truly understand it or put its magnitude into perspective. As I was talking with one of my good friends from China while we enjoyed seconds of some delicious chicken salad, I had the opportunity to better explain the concept of unconditional love. Funny, how when explaining something to someone else it becomes more real and evident in your own mind. I described to her that unconditional love is the love God has for us in the same manner a good parent loves his child. I know firsthand how awful I, even as an adult, can sometimes act towards my parents, yet still, no matter what I say or do, they love me and want the best for me.
In this same way God loves me - oh so often (and definitely more than I would like to admit) I run from Him, struggling many days to diligently pick up my cross and follow Him. At the same time, I find myself so easily running into His arms when things get tough. He ALWAYS loves me and embraces me when I return - rejoicing and taking me in but at the same time reprimanding me and pointing me in the direction I need to go. He loves me beyond my comprehension of love - with unconditional love.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Praying you will one day understand and appreciate the unconditional love Christ has to offer you if you do not know His love already!
Many blessings,
Natalie
Friday, April 22, 2011
Beautiful Feet
How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!
Romans 10:15b
I don't know exactly why, but lately this verse in particular has been on my heart. I remember first really noticing this verse my freshman year in college, when I went to Memphis and watched LeCrae perform his song titled "Beautiful Feet." I couldn't help but think about the awesome picture this painted.
Beautiful . . . and feet . . . how can these two words belong in the same sentence? As my friend Matt pointed out to me yesterday, the feet can be seen as our terrible wretched nature that can be made beautiful when we do the Lord's work. What an amazing picture of the redemption and covering we receive through following Christ! It is so promising to know He can take an ordinary and imperfect person like me and turn me into something beautiful to be used for His glory.
"But by the grace of God I am what I am . . ."
1 Corinthians 15:10
Blessings always,
Natalie
Romans 10:15b
I don't know exactly why, but lately this verse in particular has been on my heart. I remember first really noticing this verse my freshman year in college, when I went to Memphis and watched LeCrae perform his song titled "Beautiful Feet." I couldn't help but think about the awesome picture this painted.
Beautiful . . . and feet . . . how can these two words belong in the same sentence? As my friend Matt pointed out to me yesterday, the feet can be seen as our terrible wretched nature that can be made beautiful when we do the Lord's work. What an amazing picture of the redemption and covering we receive through following Christ! It is so promising to know He can take an ordinary and imperfect person like me and turn me into something beautiful to be used for His glory.
"But by the grace of God I am what I am . . ."
1 Corinthians 15:10
Blessings always,
Natalie
Monday, April 11, 2011
Life in a Box
I love the phrase “Live Outside the Box.” The reason I love this phrase so much is because I feel this is how Christ calls us to live our lives. Living inside the box involves comfort, conformity, and trust in our own ability to make it through life. There is a sense (not reality) of safety. Inside the box we know the expectations, and we receive approval from those around us. We do not have to recognize the harsh realities outside our own little world. We leave no impact nor are we greatly impacted. Once gone, we are gone, making no eternal difference in the lives of those around us. Unfortunately, this is a life too often lived by the “Christians” here in the Bible belt. As Matt Chandler would say “they have learned how to play the game.” They gain approval by doing “Christian” things and living as a “Christian” should. I myself have filled this role: talking the talk, acting the act, but not truly walking the walk.
Living outside the box involves adventure, passion, and no choice but to trust in Him to provide for our every need. Each day God draws me further and further away from my comfort zone (my box), calling me to go one step closer to the call He has placed on my life. He is slowly but surely tearing down the walls I have built up around me. If I can only focus my eyes completely on Him and nothing else and keep from the distractions and desire for comfort in my daily life, I know I will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13). My life will not be my own, but in the end it will be totally worth it. I encourage you to do the same – seek Him out and embrace the adventure He places before you. LIVE OUTSIDE THE BOX
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:2
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
April Idol Treasures
April is here, and it is now less than six weeks until graduation! Oy ve, this time has passed by quickly. It seems like only a few weeks ago I was living in the dorms, eating panninis at Mean Green Cafeteria.
Unfortunately, I have not had much time to blog lately nor really known what to say (hence no blog last month). It has been an incredible semester, and not because of anything I have done on my own.
This past month, a big issue brought to the forefront in my own life was the idols I had placed before Him. I guess I had been blind for quite some time to the things I put before Christ. I have had to recognize and lay down some things that have in some way interfered with my relationship with Him - my obsession with success and perfection, my many insecurities, and my concerns about the future. I allowed my thoughts to too often dwell on these subjects, causing anxiousness and loneliness within me. In the Bible, we are called to trust in Him completely. Our anxieties reveal the insecurity of our hearts, the lack of reliance on His promise to provide for our every need. I'm not saying my idols have disappeared from my life completely now - I still must take up my cross each day, but I am more able to recognize them when they do come up and fervently pray and seek after God to remove them from my heart and mind.
Tonight, I went to an I Am Second group through UNT for the first time. In particular, the issue of storing up treasures on earth was addressed. Nothing we own on this earth is ours to claim - it all belongs to Him. If we can only wrap our minds around this concept, maybe we would stop being so concerned about material possessions, maybe we would give more to those in need around us, maybe we would realize life is short and unpredictable and material possessions cannot be relied upon for happiness and fulfillment.
Food for thought: consider examining the things in your life you have placed before Christ, work on laying them down, and see what ways He uses you in the weeks to come. I think you will be amazed by the freedom you receive in giving your idols up, no matter how precious or important they seem in the moment. If our lives are "but a vapor," imagine how much less important and minute these things we place before Christ are in the big scheme of things. Our short-lived desires and lusts are nothing compared to the enduring quality of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Unfortunately, I have not had much time to blog lately nor really known what to say (hence no blog last month). It has been an incredible semester, and not because of anything I have done on my own.
This past month, a big issue brought to the forefront in my own life was the idols I had placed before Him. I guess I had been blind for quite some time to the things I put before Christ. I have had to recognize and lay down some things that have in some way interfered with my relationship with Him - my obsession with success and perfection, my many insecurities, and my concerns about the future. I allowed my thoughts to too often dwell on these subjects, causing anxiousness and loneliness within me. In the Bible, we are called to trust in Him completely. Our anxieties reveal the insecurity of our hearts, the lack of reliance on His promise to provide for our every need. I'm not saying my idols have disappeared from my life completely now - I still must take up my cross each day, but I am more able to recognize them when they do come up and fervently pray and seek after God to remove them from my heart and mind.
Tonight, I went to an I Am Second group through UNT for the first time. In particular, the issue of storing up treasures on earth was addressed. Nothing we own on this earth is ours to claim - it all belongs to Him. If we can only wrap our minds around this concept, maybe we would stop being so concerned about material possessions, maybe we would give more to those in need around us, maybe we would realize life is short and unpredictable and material possessions cannot be relied upon for happiness and fulfillment.
Food for thought: consider examining the things in your life you have placed before Christ, work on laying them down, and see what ways He uses you in the weeks to come. I think you will be amazed by the freedom you receive in giving your idols up, no matter how precious or important they seem in the moment. If our lives are "but a vapor," imagine how much less important and minute these things we place before Christ are in the big scheme of things. Our short-lived desires and lusts are nothing compared to the enduring quality of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Cuban grandfathers
Cuban grandfathers: I think everyone should have a Cuban grandfather. Yes, you heard me . . . Cuban grandfather. "Why?" you may ask. Because they are always there for you: to adore you, to tauk in a funny accent like Rickey Ricardo, and to tell you stories about the pranks of poor Cuban boys back in the pre-Castro days (don't ask). I can't imagine a world without Cuban grandfathers; therefore, I think everyone should have one. If you don't, I can promise you you are missing out on something amazing!
Christmas break: What a blessing it was to spend part of the holidays with my wonderful grandma and grandpa V. and the rest of my extended family (It's seriously been that long since I blogged, hence I feel I must catch you up on everything -- don't judge). After a relaxing, memorable break with family and friends in Granbury and near Houston, it was great to come back to home sweet Denton.
Since I came home to Denton two weeks before school started due to work, I was able to spend over 20 hours volunteering with occupational therapists, specifically hand therapists, at D & D Sport's Therapy. This was such a neat opportunity, as it more firmly secured my desire to go to graduate school for occupational therapy. Please be praying for me as I finish out this last semester and figure out the plans God has in store for me during my year off from school.
Back to now: I am so fortunate to be writing this blog as I stare out my window into the winter wonderland Denton has become overnight - gorgeous. This semester is probably my most difficult yet (28 exams!!!). The good news is I have already taken 1, so that large number is now down to a smaller 27. The only way I am making it through without stressing too much is keeping my eyes on the Lord and taking care of my body by going to bed early and hitting the gym on a regular basis.
One more thing: I have been struggling with how I would manage to be involved with any sort of ministry work this semester due to my busy schedule. How would I have time to build new relationships with all that is already going on in my life? Then I realized God has placed me in the most opportune of places to make friendships and reach out to others - hard classes that require lots of studying and study groups. I am planning on taking advantage of this as I have already begun building relationships with those in my classes. Continue to pray for open hearts and minds as well as courage and clarity in the words I hope to share.
Praying for you and loving you all always :)
Natalie
Christmas break: What a blessing it was to spend part of the holidays with my wonderful grandma and grandpa V. and the rest of my extended family (It's seriously been that long since I blogged, hence I feel I must catch you up on everything -- don't judge). After a relaxing, memorable break with family and friends in Granbury and near Houston, it was great to come back to home sweet Denton.
Since I came home to Denton two weeks before school started due to work, I was able to spend over 20 hours volunteering with occupational therapists, specifically hand therapists, at D & D Sport's Therapy. This was such a neat opportunity, as it more firmly secured my desire to go to graduate school for occupational therapy. Please be praying for me as I finish out this last semester and figure out the plans God has in store for me during my year off from school.
Back to now: I am so fortunate to be writing this blog as I stare out my window into the winter wonderland Denton has become overnight - gorgeous. This semester is probably my most difficult yet (28 exams!!!). The good news is I have already taken 1, so that large number is now down to a smaller 27. The only way I am making it through without stressing too much is keeping my eyes on the Lord and taking care of my body by going to bed early and hitting the gym on a regular basis.
One more thing: I have been struggling with how I would manage to be involved with any sort of ministry work this semester due to my busy schedule. How would I have time to build new relationships with all that is already going on in my life? Then I realized God has placed me in the most opportune of places to make friendships and reach out to others - hard classes that require lots of studying and study groups. I am planning on taking advantage of this as I have already begun building relationships with those in my classes. Continue to pray for open hearts and minds as well as courage and clarity in the words I hope to share.
Praying for you and loving you all always :)
Natalie
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
