Three Blogs In One

I have been away from the blogging world, so naturally I have plenty to write. I have been compulsively thinking about blogging and finally found some free time to sit down and hammer it all out. This blog will contain three unrelated subjects, each with a separate heading.

How Did You Know?

Most of my life, I have lived in a Christian bubble. In high school, I believed it was wrong to spend too much time with sinners. I often separated myself to remain holy. This mindset carried over into my early college years. However, as I grew in maturity, I discovered a yearning to be around non-Christians. I started placing myself in situations where I could befriend non-believers. The Christian bubble helped protect me as I grew in faith, but I was never made to remain there. God has graciously brought people into my life who don't necessarily believe as fervently as I do. The most miraculous outcome is non-believers know I am a Christian before I even witness. I don't tell them I am a Christian; I don't go out of my way to appear righteous. I call this God's mercy and grace. His presence goes with me, no matter the circumstance. I am astounded that people recognize my faith without any effort on my part. This is God's Spirit residing inside me, not of works. People aren’t afraid to be vulnerable with me. They ask for prayer and wisdom. They want to know about my relationship with Jesus before I even tell them I have one. This astounds me. 

Revere Mary

I grew up in a protestant home. We were taught early that praying to Mary was not permitted. We were taught that Mary sinned like all of us. Mary was just another person (nothing special) who God used to bring about redemption. I still believe that Mary sinned and that I shouldn't pray to her. However, I have slowly been learning to revere her more. She was chosen to be the mother of Jesus! That is no small task. As I read Luke 1:46–55, I can't help but celebrate with her. Recently, I have wanted God to show me how He sees Mary. A few days ago, a friend of mine was cleaning out her house and offered to give me a statue of Mary. It is now resting on my kitchen windowsill, reminding me of God's promise to the humble. His promise of exalting the lowly and humbling the proud. I look forward to the day when I can see Mary face to face. I have many questions about her journey as a mother to the Worthiest man who ever lived.

Clean Those Toilets

I recently talked to a young lady who was looking for direction and purpose for her life. I shared my testimony with her and thought those reading my blog might also gain wisdom from the retelling. 

When I was around 20 years old, God called me to prayer. I had an endless longing to remain in the place of prayer for extended amounts of time. Talking with God, singing to God, ministering to God, and asking Him to bring justice and come soon. I am now forty years old. Twenty years later, that calling hasn’t changed. 

You can imagine my surprise when God also called me to clean toilets. I was in church service and the pastor asked this question: “What if God wants you to clean toilets for the rest of your life?”  I was afraid because I knew God was asking that of me. I didn’t know how I could ever live my life in such mediocrity. What about my dreams, my God given dreams? I wanted to be a prayer warrior as an occupation. Wouldn’t this job pull me away from the prayer room? 

Long story short, the answer was no. I realized that I could bring my worship and my prayer with me as I cleaned houses. I have a MP3 player full of worship music and sermons. When God first called me to clean houses, I was disappointed. However, now I see His ways were higher. He wanted to give me a place of perpetual prayer in a humble job. When I was twenty, I also had to give up my pursuit of theatre because I wasn’t accepted into the University of Evansville’s theatre department. However, I am now graduated with a theatre degree from a Christian university. I can also learn my lines while listening to my MP3 while I clean. Again, this humble job has given me the ability to pray and pursue my acting career as well. Listen, friends! Sometimes your disappointment is a simple misunderstanding. It might be a challenge to trust God with your future, but please do. He knows what He is doing.