couch

i bought a couch at goodwill yesterday and it is the best $22 purchase i've made in a long time. 

at the store, i didn't even think about if i had enough room for it in my room.

when i got home, i was willing to move everything around so that i had room for my couch.

i didn't care what i had to do because i just loved that couch so much.

what if we thought of Jesus like that?

what if we were so radically in love with Jesus that we didn't care that we had to rearrange our lives or take pieces out to make room for Him?

it's pretty easy to say, but it took all of my strength to move around pieces of furniture. it was time-consuming and labor-demanding and i loved the set-up of my room almost as much as i loved the couch...almost.

for some people, it is the time it takes to change, for others-the effort. most of the time, our resistance to change comes from our comfort and familiarity in our current situation or the fear that the change may not be for the better. sometimes, we just like the way our lives look now. any way, i think we can all agree that it's much easier to stay the same than to change.

but if we put Jesus at the center of our lives, despite the cost, the outcome will be better than all we could ask or imagine.

haircut

in august, i got my first haircut in over a year. my hair was all sorts of damaged and in need of some serious TLC. it had been that way for about ten months now, but i still had no desire to fix it. ONE) i was able to recognize that i wasn't taking care of my hair, but i didn't want the hairdresser to call me out or judge me for it. TWO) hair dressers like to cut. the thought of me not having control of the scissors drives me absolutely insane, because sometimes i forget that they're professionals and usually know whats best for my hair before i do.

sound familiar?

we are inadequate. we are sinners. we are not worthy of His love and grace and mercy. but Our God is so loving and His LOVE covers all imperfections and sins, and we can delight in the fact that we are ALL made whole in His love, no matter who you are or what you've done because of who He is and what He has done. God doesn't judge us when we bring Him the broken pieces or messes of our lives, because He specializes in fixing brokeness and cleaning messes. He wants us to have great lives, but the only way to do that is acknowledge the damage and ask for His help: "but if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him." James 1:5.

God created us and lined up our days. He knows what's best for us because He is the author of our lives. there is no way better than His way. sometimes, it's hard to trust Him because we have an idea of how our lives should look. but God has so much more for our lives than we could ever ask or imagine. and it usually looks nothing like how we thought it would. God is the professional, and He knows what doors to close. it is up to us to let Him have control of the steering wheel, because HE won't lead us the wrong way.//10.2.14