Whoa. That was a large tangent. I almost forgot what I was talking about. So back to the point. I started the Above the Line series written by the one and only, amazing Karen Kingsbury. I mean seriously if you don't read her books you are surely missing out on a blessing. She writes Christian fiction novels that are so moving and captivating sometimes you think you are there watching the story firsthand.
The first book in the Above the Line series is called Take One. It follows Chase Ryan and Keith Ellison as the set out on a journey to change the world and bring people back to their families and to Christ through powerful movies. It also follows Keith's daughter, Andi, and her roomate Bailey Flanigan as they face college and try to find their way with the Lord.
This is not a book review. This is probably going to be a long post though and I'm about to stand up on my Christian box. I don't do that often because I am a firm believer in actions not words. But don't hear that wrong and think I am perfect or that I think I am perfect because neither are true.
I had a rough weekend and things are changing like I said yesterday. Somewhere along the way in the past year and a half I feel like I have lost little pieces of who I am. Not enough for most people to notice, but enough for me to feel a little off balance and like something was missing. At first I was resistant to these changes, and I was unable to face the hard truth that was staring me straight in my face.
I had been meaning to read the Above the Line series ever since I finished the Bailey Flanigan series. The Above the Line series actually comes before the Bailey Flanigan series so obviously I'm doing it a little backwards, but hey, who cares? Right? No? Well poo on you.
So anyway, I started this book last night like I said and I was instantly captivated. Kingsbury has such a gift. I felt like she wrote certain parts of this book just for me. You see, Chase and Keith had a plan. Well they thought they did. But God was going to and did show them that His plans far exceed theirs. If you know anything about me in real life, then you know I like to plan. I get it from my momma and I am not ashamed.
All my life I had this idea of how my life would go. I thought I'd go to school and get an amazing degree in something I loved, I would graduate, work at an amazing job that brought me great joy, get married to a man that loved me almost as much as the Lord, have three beautiful kids, and live this beautiful life. In that order. No seriously. That has always been my plan. And then I read this post by my good friend Hayley over at A Beautiful Exchange the other day and realized how naive I really was.
Did I really think that the longer I told God my plan, the more likely it would come true? Did I honestly believe that my plan for my life was better than what my Lord had in store? More importantly did I really even think for a second that this was my life? Yes, yes I did. I thought all of these things were true. But when my happy little plans came to a crashing and terrifying halt, I realized that my plans were feeble and would always falter.
This book brought that to light more than ever. I could feel God telling me the truth about my life through this story. It was so evident to me that I had been telling God, 'I got this. Just sit over there and see awesome I am.' Not once did I think that I should be sitting down and shutting the heck up and saying 'Hey God, what is it that you think I should be doing? What I am supposed to do with this life You gave me?' I never thought about how I was making God feel. Not until last night. Not until the Lord spoke to me through the words on the pages of this book.
I'm going to share with you some things that I actually remembered to write down from the book that spoke to me.
1.
"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" -Jeremiah 29:11
2.
The bigger the mountain, the greater the view on the other side.
3.
P.U.S.H. : Pray Until Something Happens
Now obviously there a countless more things that I read last night that spoke to me but these three spoke to me enough that I wrote them down. The last two are really just things that I would love to have framed as reminders of how to live. But the first one, has always been special to me. It has always spoken to me in ways that I can't even begin to describe. And last night was no exception.
I'm a planner but my God is the ultimate planner with the power to move mountains. It's needless to say that my plans are crappy. They are trivial, fleeting, and not what God has in store for my life. Being a planner is about being in control. And control is, in my opinion, the number one issue for Christians. We don't like to surrender fully. It's scary to give all control to God. I want to know what's going to happen so I can prepare. But God says not to worry about tomorrow because tomorrow will have enough troubles of its own and today's troubles are enough for today. That's Matthew 6:34 in case you were wondering.
So what is my point today? My point is that my plans clearly suck. And though it terrifies me, I want to start giving my plans to God so that He can do what He does best. I am a tool for God to use and I want to shine bright in the dark world. I want to glorify the God who made me. It's time to start letting go of what's holding me back. I have a year and a half left in college. I want to make sure I am fully prepared for the world and for whatever God wants from me.
So before I sign off, I ask of you, what are YOU holding on to? What do YOU need to let go? Find your knees and start there.
This is my prayer for myself and for all of you this week
