Just His Presence

I have wanted to be a missionary for...well it feels like forever. But lately, doubts started popping up in my mind.

Doubts like...

"What if people don't like me or want to listen to me?"

"What if I can't make a difference?"

"What if I'm not a good enough speaker?

"What if I don't know enough?"

These questions, and more, have been plaguing me for a while now. It's been quite the downer, because this is what I wanted to do with my future. I wanted to minister to people, whether I went to a foreign land or showed Jesus to someone just down the street. But how can I do that with all my shortcomings? Needless to say, I was definitely stressing out about my future.

And then a speaker at Downtown Church of Christ's Sunday night singing service (wow, try saying "Sunday Night Singing Service" five times fast) really touched my heart and got me to thinking. So this post will be a compilation of my thoughts throughout the week.

When God appeared to Moses, Moses had reasons as to why he could not go to Egypt. In the same way, when God appeared to Gideon, Gideon also had his list of shortcomings ready to recite to God. Both of these men, like me, had reasons as to why they did not think they were fit to minister to those that God was calling them to minister to. The next part of these men's stories, though, is what made me realize how silly I had been.

God doesn't say "No, no Moses! You're the best public speaker out there! You're going to do great, because you have such a talent for negotiation. I need your gift." God also doesn't say to Gideon, "No, you're definitely old enough! You are going to do great. I mean, look at how great you are at talking to people and getting people to listen!"

No, there was no reassurance of their talents. Not once did God say, "With your talents, you can do this."

What's my point?

My point is that we need to be focusing on what God DOES promise them. He doesn't reassure them and tell them that THEY can do it. God instead promises that He will be with them. That's it. It has nothing to do with the people and everything to do with God and His mighty power.

Once I realized that, my whole view began to change. I had been so wrapped up in worrying if my talents were developed enough to change people's lives and if my talents were good enough to make a difference. This isn't about me. This is about God doing amazing, wonderful works. This is about God touching people's hearts. He doesn't need me, He doesn't need us. And yet, He allows us to play a part in making people's lives better. If we help Him in His works, it's a gift that He has given us, not a requirement for His plans to succeed.

My encouragement to you this week would be to remember that His presence is what He promises us, and that His presence in our lives is so much more than enough for all of us. And when you get discouraged because of your shortcomings, remember that God was never relying on us. It is us that needs to learn to fully rely on Him, and that no matter how unworthy or ungifted you think you are, it's never about you and your abilities. So don't worry if you think you're not good enough to help someone, because God can work through anyone, wherever they are and use whatever abilities they have to glorify Him.

Be salt and light!!

~Hannah~

My Own Little World

I have recently been amazed by one of my friends. Everyday he does something that just shows me the love he has for Christ. One thing fairly recently that showed me this was that he wanted to take sandwiches to the homeless in the town we were in. Now, he didn't really tell people he was doing this (He's as humble as they come). When he got there he was told it was dangerous to hand out the sandwiches and that it would be foolish to do so. I was worried and obviously asked him not to, and he ended up not. He took the sandwiches he had spent hours making to a homeless shelter where they would be put to good use. He was so upset because he couldn't do more to help. It wasn't because he wanted the credit for himself, it was because he genuinely was upset that there wasn't more that he could do to help the people he encountered.

This was amazing to me. The passion he has for helping people astounds me everyday. He is the kind of person I aspire to be. I recently heard (and sub sequentially, became obsessed with) a song called My Own Little World by Matthew West. I would encourage you to listen to the song and really think about what it's saying.

It's so easy to write off people and say "well, it's THEIR fault they are in that situation, so I don't need to do anything" or "well, someone else will help them"...and the list goes on. But we are called to be that person that helps others.



My challenge to you is to look outside "your own little world" and help someone that needs it.

Be salt and light!
~Hannah~

True Beauty

"The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman is seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It's the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows & the beauty of a woman only grows with passing years. "
— Audrey Hepburn

I recently re-ran across this quote and again fell in love with it. I know this is probably the most overstated phrase, but in today's day and age people spend so much time focused on what people look like that I feel like we miss out on a lot of the actual person. Now don't get me wrong, I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to look your best sometimes. It's fun to get all dressed up and put on your make-up and do your hair (boys, in case you are wondering I'm mainly focusing on the girls here. When I say "hair and makeup" just imagine I'm saying your favorite polo and your best cologne!). But always looking perfect shouldn't be our main focus. I always really took it for granted, but I didn't realize how much I appreciated my friends that loved me in my best dress or in sweats and a t-shirt. I have been so blessed with some of the best friends anyone could ask for.

I want to brag on my guy friends for a second. I think guys have more of a pressure to look for the outward appearance of a girl in today's world. This may be wrong, but that's what I see. I have friends that would tell me everyday that I looked beautiful, no matter how I really looked. One of the first things I noticed about a guy I met at Harding was that he would tell every girl he talked to, every Sunday when he saw them, that they looked beautiful. I asked him about it one time and his response was so incredible. He said "You girls look beautiful all the time. You have beauty that shines from the inside and that makes you girls beautiful, always".

Wow. I mean, how wonderfully refreshing is that? But part of me is sad that this mentality is "unique" and "refreshing". I feel like it should be so commonplace that you don't even notice it anymore. But, I don't see this happening. I do, however, believe that every girl deserves a guy like this. A guy who will love you when you're dressed up at a fancy restaurant, and when you're sick and have to cancel a date out, and instead go and watch a movie in sweats.

And don't get me wrong. Girls also tend to look at the outward appearance of guys. I'm not just ragging on guys here. It's just because I'm a girl it's much easier to look at it from the girl's point of view.

So this is my challenge to you (from a girl's perspective). Guys- don't be the man in the verse "For man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart". Look at the heart of a girl first. Because that, not her looks, defines who she is. And girls- hold out for a guy that looks at your heart. That thinks you're beautiful no matter what because you deserve nothing less.

Be salt and light!!

~Hannah~

New Format- Hopefully!

I recently realized that if I am going to have any hopes of blogging regularly, I will need a schedule. Because I forget. Or get busy (which has been the case the past few weeks!). So here is my plan! I'm going to attempt to blog a minimum of three times a week, with at least one "song or quote" blog. I'm really excited because I'm started keeping a journal, so a lot of my posts will probably be from the journal entries I've written. I have a lot of new ideas too, so that will be great fun. Anyway, I hope everyone has a wonderful week. Church this morning and this evening was very challenging but also uplifting. I absolutely love my church. I miss the kids that went on mission trip though. REALLY wish I coulda snuck on the bus and gotten away with it. Oh well, they're going to do awesome work and I can't wait to hear all about it! Have a great week!

Be salt and light!

~Hannah~

Don't Become a 'Just' Guy (or GIrl)

Molly: I knew it. As soon as I saw that suit.
Henry: Knew what?
Molly: You're a 'just' guy.
Henry: What's a 'just' guy?
Molly: A guy just like you. Same hair, same suit, same shoes, walks around, no matter what, you think it's all just a store, it's just a bench, it's just a tree. It's just what it is, nothing more!
Henry: Alright but this... is just a store.
Molly: I'm sure to you it is.

If you've read my blog post entitled "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium", then you've read this quote before. This concept has really been on my mind lately. One of my life ambitions is to always live with passion and do everything that I do with passion. Very often though, my mind turns to the "just" mentality. "Well, this is 'just' math class.", "This is 'just' a project for my boss.", etc. I think becoming a "just" person can be very dangerous. If we begin thinking in the "just" mentality about the little things, then how long will it be before we start thinking of bigger things in the "just" sense? "Well, I really should finish up this project at work. It's 'just' my kid's 5th grade recital, there will be another one soon". "I know my husband (or wife) asked me to do (insert request here) but I'm so tired from work. It's 'just' this one time I'll say no. Next time I'll help out!" Soon enough though, the next time never comes. There are no more opportunities. The "just" trap can be dangerous and come quickly, if we let it.

What if, however, we let ourselves get out of the "just" box? What if we looked at that tree (to use the example from Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium) as not "just" a tree, but as one of God's wonderful creations? Or as the request from our husband or wife, mother, father, etc as not a burden, but as an opportunity to serve that person that we love and show them that we love them? Once we get out of the "just" mind frame, a new world is opened to us. It opens us up to new opportunities, and I truly believe we become happier because we see the world through new eyes.

My challenge to you today is probably fairly obvious. Do not let yourself become a "just" person. Look at everything in life as a wonderful opportunity to better yourself and others and try to look deeper than just surface level.

Be salt and light!!!
~Hannah~

The Church- Made of Love, Not Stones

One thing a lot of you may not know about me is that I am a quote junky. I LOVE looking through quotes and I get excited when I find one particularly insightful. Nerdy, perhaps. But hey- it could be worse. All that to say, tonight I was looking through quotes and ran across one I particularly liked.

"While God waits for His temple to be built of love, men bring stones."

It took me several minutes of just sitting here thinking about it before I really grasped what it was saying. When I got it though, I absolutely loved it. This quote is so true. I am probably a broken record when it comes to this topic, but I will continue to say this as often as I can, because I think it is so important. We are the church. Not the building, the stones and brick and mortar. Us. The church is just a place. Now don't misunderstand me. The place where the church goes on Sunday and Wednesdays and whenever else is so important because it gives a place for members of Christ's body to meet together and encourage each other and learn from each other. But if that's ALL we do, sit in a church building and listen and sing a few songs- what good is that? The Bible tells us that faith without deeds is useless. I am as guilty at this as the next person. But how many of us pray for God to change the world through us or pray for God to bless this person or that person, and then go on our way and think to ourselves that now God is going to take care of it so it's out of our hands and that we've done our job? In this case, it is NOT the thought that counts. It is OUR responsibility to help people, to be Christ's hands and feet. What if, instead of just praying that Susan starts making better choices, we befriend her and SHOW her just what the love of Christ can do in a person? Or instead of just saying that we hope that the Allan family's situation gets better, we rallied the church to buy them groceries or provide free babysitting for their children so that the parents can work extra hours? Granted, these are random for instance-es. But you get my point. There is something we can do to help people, and we should. If the church was what it should be, a body of believers determined to be the light of Christ in this world and show people with our actions how Christ has changed them...how could people argue with us? Instead of Christians going out to convert people, people would be coming to the church because they WANTED to be there. There would be something so attractive, something so wonderful, that they couldn't help but want to be a part of it.

One last thing that's on my mind about this- I think something we can all do better at is looking with the eyes of Jesus. If we saw every person as a broken person who desperately needs the love and healing power of God, then it would help us as well. We would gossip less, because we would be concerned for that person instead of wanting to belittle them. We would get angry less, because we would realize we ALL fall short. And the list goes on.

Going back to the quote, we need to focus less on the building itself and more on the people IN the building. My challenge to you for this week is simply...do something. Praying is good and useful and you can never underestimate the power of prayer. But don't stop there. Do something for someone. And then...do something else.

Be salt and light!!!

~Hannah~

Lessons Learned from Movies

This summer when I am going to be able to have scheduled time to blog, I'm going to have different categories. One I'm implementing now is "Lessons that I learned from movies".

This is a goofy movie to say the least, but the other day I watched "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure". It's one of those "have to see it to get the quotes" movies, but it was very funny. I'll let you watch it on your own sometime (it's on youtube, alright!) but two teenagers get involved in time travel. At one point in the movie, they get asked for a piece of advice. Their advice? "Be excellent to each other".

As random as this may be, this is my challenge for you. Be excellent to each other. Be kind, be patient, be humble, be forgiving, be a friend, be a mentor...whatever the other person needs- be that for them. Simply... be excellent.

That's my insight for the week. Nothing deep, just something I was thinking about recently. Have a great weekend!

Be salt and light!
~Hannah~