Step Outside Your Box

Sometimes I am amazed at how our paths cross with people over the years. My personality is such that I am always meeting new people. I love people, love to hear their stories, and love to develop friendships with people. As a young person and into my college years, the people I surrounded myself with and met were most often people from some agricultural tie or connection. I usually had met them at a livestock show, convention, or in an ag-based class in college. This was really by design. I didn't want to meet people out of my comfort zone. I wanted to feel safe. I was scared that if I met someone outside of my box, I might actually have to be open-minded. For this small town East Texas girl who was raised as an only child- that was something I was simply not interested in. As I have grown and matured over the last few years, I have made an effort to meet new people and be open to friendships that might not fit into my little box. I am so thankful I have done this. WIthout that mentality, I would have robbed myself of some of the most wonderful friendships. God has so abundantly blessed me with people I can count on and people who have taught me more than they will ever realize.

This picture was taken this weekend at the College Station CrossFit Almighty Friday Open WOD. As a CrossFit community, we completed 14.1. CrossFit has an "open" competition each year and this was the first week of the event. It was such an impactful experience for me. We all come together as a community and complete the assigned workout. People are yelling, shouting, and encouraging you every step of the way. You'll notice this picture is not of us working out. It is of the group prayer before we began. There are two things about this picture that are important to me. First, how cool is it that our box can come together in prayer?? In the world we live in today, that is a huge testament of the faith of the owners, coaches, and members of this great place! Second, the two females who are embracing are myself and Rebecca-- my good friend who I workout with. She is one of those friends who 5 years ago I would have not likely made an effort to get to know. We don't have any agricultural tie to one another. We have totally different careers and were raised in totally different places. That being said, CrossFit (and Jesus) brought us together last semester for a purpose. We needed each other. She is one of my dearest friends and I can say without hesitation that we will be lifelong friends. She has kept me grounded, kept me accountable, and kept me going in times that I really thought I wanted to quit.

I tell that story to encourage you to get outside your box. Meet new people. Have an open mind. Be a friend to people. You never know the impact that one conversation or meeting could have.

Photo creds: Imani Photography www.imaniphotog.com

God Honors Requests Coupled with Faith

Yesterday, I heard a church sermon that stopped me in my tracks. Our pastor began by telling the congregation that this wasn’t going to be one of those “feel good” sermons. My stomach always gets queasy when he says that. It is almost like God is saying, “Okay, JAS, this one is for you!” I certainly felt that way yesterday.

The premise of the sermon was faith in God vs. requesting things from God. Chris Osborne, pastor at Central Baptist Church- College Station, Texas, really honed in on this statement, “God doesn’t honor requests; He honors requests coupled with faith.” He preached from Mark 7:24 – 30. The passage begins with Jesus going to a house and trying not to be noticed. A woman who was a Pharisee and not a Jew came and fell at His feet. She begged Jesus to drive a demon out of her daughter. Jesus told her, “First let the children eat all they want for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” (Mark 7:27) Jesus was saying that He would not honor her request. The woman said, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” (Mark 7:28) This woman was telling Jesus that she believed he could cast the demon out of her daughter and that she did, indeed, have faith. He replied, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.” (Mark 7:29). The woman went home to her daughter and found that the demon was gone.

This woman demonstrated intense faith in Jesus Christ. He honored her request because she had faith in Him. What a testament this is?! In my own life, I often struggle with patience and the ability to have faith in God’s timing and plan. I tend to think that my way is the only way. This has oozed into all aspects of my life and is a daily battle that I have to fight. At Christmas this year, I told myself that I was going to make a conscious effort in 2014 to live intentionally and seek God’s plan in all of my life. I would have to let go and have faith that God would honor my requests in life. I had to stop trying to control everything. To me this meant that I was going to be intentional about all decisions I made: the food I ate, the friendships I made and nurtured, the words I said, and more than anything, the dating relationships I entered into. My dating history has been pretty rough, that is no secret to anyone. I set up some “rules” and told myself I was going to take a “dating sabbatical” for 6 months. Now, I know this all sounds a little wacky, especially if you don’t know me very well. But, I am someone who needs parameters and structure. My friends would tell you that this was probably the best thing I ever did. It made me stop, think, and pray before I reacted to any and all things. I was able to step back and really give my personal life to Jesus.

As I am sure you have already noticed, it hasn’t been 6 months. It has barely been 8 weeks. But, these 8 weeks have dramatically impacted and changed my life. The details of the last 8 weeks are for another blog post, but I can tell you without hesitation that God has honored more than one request because those requests were coupled with faith. I finally decided and admitted that I could not do these things on my own-- I had to have Jesus by my side. Not only was I faithfully praying for these things, but many others had been and still are praying. I write this not to brag and say “life is grand,” but to encourage you just as I was encouraged. The sermon yesterday was exactly what I needed to hear to help me continue praying with faith that God’s will and plan are far better than my own.

Until next time...
JAS