One thing I have really enjoyed about working with the Job Foundation is building connections with a lot of people.  I have gotten to meet so many different people and learn about non-profit organizations through this job at the Job Foundation.   I believe building connections is the great foundation for the Christian church.  It is so vital for christians and for everyone to build connections and to make friends and love with people from many different places.  

I recently have experienced that even more through just being at Cedar Falls.  Cedar Falls is the town where I went to college.  I went to UNI or the University of Northern Iowa, so because I live in the town I used to live in for college, I was able to build connections from college and continue to grow them in the new job I am at now.  Even today, I got invited back to one of my college’s picnics for new students as well as faculty.  It was a perfect chance to go and see some of my old professors and meet some older alumni.  

This has really also hit home recently when I did some reading of the book, “The Sacred Acre” by Mark Tabb.  This book was about Ed Thomas.  Ed Thomas was a very talented football coach living in Parkersburg, IA who won some state championships, helped coach many young football players to colleges, and the NFL, and he was even the winner of the NFL high school coach of the year.  He was very much talented, but more than that he was very beloved to those students and the players of whom he taught/coached.  He especially showed that, even amidst tragedy.  

On May 25th of 2008, Parksburge was hit with an EF5 tornado, destroying much of the town in its path.  Thomas went through a great amount of  heartbreak and devastation, as did most of the town.  They lost their house, and the school was badly destroyed.  However, he knew he couldn’t just sit there in self-pity.  He wanted to have his school back and he wanted the football team to make it back to their field.  Because of this, he made an outstanding goal to play the first scheduled football game on their field.  This was going to take a great deal of hard work and it would take a lot of hands.  However, they were able to do it.  Because of his hardwork and continued hope after this devastation, the town was able to get back to the place where they were before.   The town was starting to get its light back, and in a much faster timeline because Ed Thomas believed they could. The football season even made it to the second round of playoffs to get to the state competition.  They had a great season, and it was because the athletes wanted to work hard for both Ed Thomas and the Lord. 

There is another tragedy to this story.  A little over a year after the tornado took down the town, Ed Thomas was sadly and devastatingly murdered by a former athlete and student. This student was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.  He was very mentally ill at the time of the shooting.  This doesn’t mean to take away from the evil he bestowed on Ed’s family, students, and town.  I say this, so those can know that Ed really was beloved.  He wasn’t murdered by a hurt student, rather a student who had mental illness at the time.  

This town was in shock.  There were so many former colleagues, students, and just town people who loved Ed and loved the way he coached with authority yet integrity.  They loved the way he prayed with the students and taught them about Christ in a very non formal way.  They loved Him, and they were heartbroken.  Yet, there were many people who were touched and were inspired by him to go and follow Christ.  Many people came to his funeral and visitation where the Gospel was given to those in attendance, just as Ed would have desired.  Ed touched people.  He made connections, and in the end, people heard about Christ and came to be Christians. 

There are many verses in the Bible about building connections with others and about building relationships.  One example is 1 Thessalonians 3:12 which says, “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.”  This verse speaks of having a great love for everyone around us.  It is important to constantly be building connections with those around us, in any situation.  You have the ability to touch so many people, just when going about your daily life.  

My challenge for you this week is to go and make a new connection or a new relationship.  This could be starting a conversation with someone whether that be in the gym, or at your job, or even while at the grocery store.  I will work really hard to follow this challenge as well.  I can sometimes get very focused on myself, especially when I am super busy, and I am trying to really manage my time, but there are so many opportunities God wants to put in front of us to make connections.  I pray that good connections are made for all of you. 

I am currently reading a book called, “Forgiveness,” by Timothy Keller.   This book started with a description of the world we live in today that has forgiveness as not a main priority.  The world, as a whole, believes forgiveness doesn’t give people justice.  They believe that when people are often forgiven, then they are being forgiven from all the wrongs in the world.  For example, when someone has murdered someone else, and the mother of the deceased has forgiven the murderer, people say that this forgiveness takes away the justice from what he did.  There should be no forgiveness to certain people is a common belief.  

We also see that there are many people who seem to only focus on forgiveness from the point of the person who needs to forgive.  This could be the victim or the survivor of a perpetrator’s actions.  It is all about whether or not they are ready or if they want to forgive this other person.  Even many certified therapists have taught and trained those studying to become therapists to not push the idea of forgiveness on their clients.  This has to be when they are ready to forgive and when they are willing to choose to let this piece of pain go. 

Another type of forgiveness is only forgiving those who “deserve it”  Those who have worked to apologize, ask for forgiveness, been shamed, etc.  Then maybe after they have “served their time,” then they can be forgiven.   This shows that forgiveness is something gained and worked for. Forgiveness is not something simply granted to anyone. 

However,  Keller reminds us, especially in the last type of forgiveness-the forgiveness earned, that we are forgiven by God even when we do not deserve it.  We could never earn our forgiveness from God.  This is why Jesus had to die on the cross and create our salvation for us. Keller reminds us that the reason why we should be able to forgive is because God has forgiven us.  The love we receive from Christ, should extend to others, even when they have wronged us.  

One quote I thought was really good from this book, taken from Martin Luther King Jr. was “He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power of love.”  This reminds us that when we forgive, we are also showing love.  When God forgives us, he is showing the greatest amount of love anyone or any being could.  He is choosing to forgive us, even though we could never repay him or make up for the negatives we did.  

The Bible speaks so heavily of forgiveness. Forgiveness is mentioned over a hundred times in the Bible. One verse is Colossians 3:13 which says, “Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”  There are going to be people in the world who hurt us.  There are going to be those who have wrong thoughts or opinions of you, and there are going to be those who complain against you.  However, the Bible wouldn’t describe the greatness of forgiveness so much if it was not worth doing.  

I am not going to say forgiveness is always easy.  The main reason I am reading this book is because there are few people who have hurt me, who I have just not been able to forgive so well.  They have hurt me and have left me crying at different points.  I want them to feel sorry for how they have made me feel.  However, I realized how I was responding to their hurt was no better than how they were acting towards me.  I didn’t deserve much better.  I wasn’t showing any more love than they were showing to me.  Because of the struggle to forgive, I saw this book, and I realized I did need to have a heart more filled with love and forgiveness.  

The basis of this is that forgiveness is important and essential for the Christian faith.  This is not because we need to let people “off the hook,” or to give them grace.  It isn’t to feel like a better person. It is also not because we need to forgive for our own benefits.  We don’t need to just forgive so we don’t have the anger inside of us.  Both of these are beneficial, but these are not the reasons for forgiveness.  Forgiveness comes because we are so filled with love from Christ dying on the cross for our sins, that we simply love others with a similar kind of love.  We are so filled with God’s love that we want to show that love to everyone we meet.  We want everyone to know about this kind of love.  The book reminds us that if we are not filled with a heart of forgiveness, then we have not fully experienced the love that God has for us.  

I have a few challenges for you through this week. The first one is to spend time reading the Gospel.  This can be found in the final chapters of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  The reason to spend time in these chapters is to remember the love the Lord has for you.  This is the love that God bestowed on you.  You should be able to see how much he has forgiven you for every wrong and choice and every mistake you have ever made.  This goes for everyone.  

The second part of the challenge for this week is to spend some time thinking about one person or a group of people of whom you are struggling to forgive.  It is important to spend time reflecting on why you are struggling to forgive them.  What is it that makes it hard for you to forgive this person or this group of people?  Why do you not want to forgive?  After spending time in the Gospel and being able to reflect on God’s forgiveness, then pray for the ability to forgive those who have wronged you in the past.  We are all loved and forgiven, so we do have the ability to forgive.  

I was recently reading the book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki along with Sharon L. Lechter for work.  Robert’s rich dad had interesting ideas and new thoughts when it comes to making money and becoming more financially independent of the job you have.  This book, overall, did have some interesting views and takes, and I did get some good thoughts and good lines for my financial literacy lessons, but there was a great quote I saw that really struck and inspired me. 

This says, “Most of us have heard the saying, ‘You are what you eat.’ I have a different slant on the same saying.  I say, ‘You become what you study.’ In other words, be careful what you study and learn, because your mind is so powerful that you become what you put in your head.”  I thought this was so important to reflect on.  It is amazing what our brains can do.  Our brains even control our muscles to create muscle memory.  After a person has done the same act continuously, the muscles can complete the task subconsciously.  This shows that our brain really does adapt to what we think, what we do or what we study.  The brain remembers.  It remembers the information we are constantly putting inside of it.  

What we put in our bodies is really important.  It is essential to make sure we have a good amount of healthy foods with fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, etc.  It is also critical to make sure to not always eat junk food or food with high amounts of sugar.  Similarly, it is significant what we focus our thoughts on, including what we study.  This is why it is so important to read and study the Bible.  There is so much Christians need to learn in the Bible.  There are a lot of books to study and gain from.  The Bible provides us with so much insight to how we as Christians should act and think.  

When I was in college, I really had to study hard.  I had to make sure I knew the material for each test.  However, I also knew I needed to read the syllabus.  The syllabus is the papers the professors would hand out on the first day of class, so students can know what will be expected of them in regards to assignments and tests.  It was also good to know if there was any grading being done on participation or daily points/quizzes.  No professor was the same, not even in the slightest, so because of that, it was pertinent a person knew each syllabus, so they could know each professor’s expectations. 

Similarly, it is important to know the Bible. It is so paramount to focus our minds on the things above.  We need to make sure we focus on the love the Lord has for us and the rest of his people.  We need to make sure we depend on God for our whole salvation and our whole life.  We need to make sure to depend on his control and his timing, not ours.  It is also important to know how to interact with other people, both believers and nonbelievers to better shine God’s light to the rest of the world.  

The Bible mentions its importance of reading and following the word.  One verse that speaks of the importance of study in the Bible is Joshua 1:8.  This verse says, “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” This is a good reminder to have the word, so you can meditate on it, and know it from the inside, out.  This is mainly because if you really know God’s Word, you will then be able to follow God’s commands better.  

I should say that being prosperous and successful doesn’t always include being prosperous and successful in the worldly way, but rather in the Godly way.  God doesn’t ever promise we as Christians will be rich or will have everything we dream of in this world.  We are, however, promised to grow spiritual fruit to inspire other Christians.  This is how we are prosperous and successful, when we help spread the love of Christ to all peoples.  Then one day we will be celebrating with Christ in complete prosperity.  

The challenge for this week is to spend time studying one section of the Bible.   This could be anything you want to study or anything that has more of an interest for you.  The only caveat is to spend time really studying that same passage/topic this week.  Take 10 to 15 minutes daily to reread the same chapter over and over again.  Really try hard to make sure you have an understanding of a new concept. 

I have started the book, “Miraculous Stories of the Healing Power of Prayer,”  by Harris Faulkner.  This book has been really delightful.  I have enjoyed hearing stories of prayer and miracles by the everyday person.  Some of the stories have been about a woman who conquered her heroin addiction and is now a missionary, one was about teens who were rescued by a boat when they were drowning in a huge lake, and a missionary who was put in prison for a while in Turkey who was finally released.  

One story I read recently was over George Washington Carver, the scientist who discovered many purposes of the peanut.  I knew about George Washington Carver, but I realized there were many things I didn’t know about him.  I wasn’t aware of how religious he was, and how those religious views are the main reason as to why the uses of the peanut were created.  In today’s world, we obviously know a lot about peanuts.  We know we can eat peanuts for a healthy snack, use it in peanut butter, cook with peanut oil, etc.  It is almost hard to imagine that at one time, there were many people who didn’t know anything about the peanut and how it could be consumed or used for everyday life.  

One quote from the book that really struck me was, “But George’s lifelong philosophy had been that God never created worthless things.”  I loved reading this.   I think there are many times we as people don’t find much purpose in the things of nature or we don’t find purpose in the small or obsolete things.  I know I personally struggle to find much purpose with things such as wind and certain bugs like mosquitos.  

Another one was “To those who have as yet not learned the secret of true happiness. Which is the joy of coming into the closest relationship with the Maker and Preserver of all things. Begin now to study the little things in your own door yard, going from the known to the nearest related unknown for indeed each new truth brings one nearer to God.”  When we as people take time to reflect on life and the things around us, we can be filled with a lot of joy.  We can often feel closer to God when we can see all the things and the goodness around us. 

Another woman who was very good about finding purpose and being grateful even in the small things was Betsie Ten Boom.  She was a sufferer of the Holocaust, but even amidst her suffering, she found ways to appreciate God’s goodness.  She was even grateful for the fleas in her and her sister, Corrie Ten Boom’s cabin.  She praised God for the fleas.  Her sister thought it was completely crazy for her to praise God about fleas.  However, these fleas ended up being vital for Corrie and Betsie’s safety.  At one time the guards at the concentration camp were doing searches in cabins. Corrie and Betsie had a Bible in the cabin.  Because of the fleas, the guards decided not to enter the cabin.  They were pretty grossed out, and therefore, Corrie, Betsie, and their Bible were saved.

We as people, even Christians, even myself, can also forget about the things all around.  We can sometimes forget about the little blessings in the world.  This is especially true when we are struggling or having a bad day.  When I am not in the best mood, I am more upset about things like the wind, especially when I am doing something outside.  However, I also have done some research in my time and have discovered that wind not only provides a chance for us humans, and animals to cool.  It also provides a source of energy, which is something that my home state of Iowa produces in great quantities. 

The challenge for this week is to spend some time in research over an item in life that we don’t see much of the benefit in.  For example, if you are a person who doesn’t see the benefit of wind, spend some time in research as to the importance of wind and why we need it.  I will personally do my own research.  It can even be great to spend some time in prayer over this small thing in the world.  Praise God for creating it and for it to be in your life.  Even if it is something one finds inconvenient.  

Recently something happened to me that has never happened before.  If I am quite honest, it was over something, I will usually tease other people about.  I left my cell phone on top of my car, while I was driving.  In case you are curious or are wondering, that is not an ideal place for a phone to be.  Cell phones shouldn’t necessarily ride on the top in case it falls off and breaks or gets run over.  Anyway, but in my infinite wisdom, I forgot to remove it from the top of my car when I got in my car and started driving.  

I wasn’t completely aware of this situation.  I just assumed I left my phone at the office when I got to my new destination and didn’t have it with me.  However, as I am sitting drinking my tea at the tea shop, behind the scenes, a stranger found my phone, posted it on facebook, asking a whole bunch of people to share it and if they know who the phone belongs to.  Then he also brought it to a safe location, where I could eventually pick it up.

I obviously did find out my phone had gone missing.  I got a call on my work phone from my supervisor who in turn had gotten a phone call from my mom, who had seen and been notified on facebook about my phone being missing.  I lost my phone, without any stress in trying to find it! Talk about modern social media technology at its best.  I am so extremely grateful for this man who found my phone and did everything in his power to find me as the owner and to keep my phone safe.  

It can be very easy to do things for the people we love.  When we love someone, we want to be kind and help them out to the best of our ability.  It can be a bit harder to do this for a complete stranger or even someone who is an enemy.  It can feel as though it has a lot less benefit to us.  We don’t get the satisfaction of seeing our loved ones happy.  We may not also receive the same kindness shown back to us when we are showing love to a complete stranger.   However, sometimes we as people are so dependent on the kindness and the random love shown by someone we had never known.

I have always heard stories of kindness shown by strangers.  There is finding a wallet and making sure the person finds it through all sorts of means, as opposed to leaving it where it was or stealing it for themselves.   I have heard of paying it forward and paying for the coffee for the person next in line at the drive thru.  I have heard of people stopping randomly to pray over those they meet in the street.  I have always been impressed and inspired by those who have done this for strangers, and now I am even more inspired because of my own personal blessings from a stranger.  

The Bible also gives a lot of verses when it comes to showing love, even to strangers.  One verse that describes this love is Hebrews 13:2 which says, “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”  The whole chapter of Hebrews 13 describes different people we are supposed to love.  He reminds people to love our brothers and sisters in Christ, prisoners, those who are mistreated, and strangers.  He reminds his workers that through helping strangers, you may be showing love to God the Father.  Remember that all people are in the creation of God, so this is the main reason we need to show love to all people.  

The challenge for you this week is just as much of a challenge for you as it will be for me.  My challenge for you is to do something really loving and really kind to a stranger.  This has so many potential options.  This could be paying for someone’s coffee that is behind you in the drive thru.  This could be helping someone with a task they need to complete.  There may be an opportunity that comes up unexpectedly, like me with my phone.  Be willing this next week to show love, even to strangers. 

The church I attend has been making their way through Romans.  This past week was over Romans 16. Romans 16 goes through a whole bunch of people Paul wants to honor. Some of the people he wanted to highlight were Priscilla and Aquila, Phoebe, Mary, etc.  There were a lot in the church of Rome who made it a lot easier for Paul and the church as a whole to grow. Paul wanted everyone to know they had a role to play in helping the church be what it is today.   Paul also knows that when people are Christians, they all belong to the same family.  They are one God-honoring family, who should love and support each other.  

My pastor Peter through this section of the Bible shows us the importance of honoring others in Christ.  It can be important to show honor to others through a Christ-like way.  My pastor even  honored others in the church to show this as a good example.  He had certain members of the church stand up, so they could be recognized.  It was nice to highlight and honor members of our church.  He reminded us that we don’t need to feel awkward or ashamed of this act of Christ likeness. 

Sometimes we as Christians can be not the best at honoring other people or other Christians. We can believe if we give too many compliments then that maybe it would go to their heads or it would make them too prideful.  Sometimes we can also be too jealous or too comparative to really want to honor or highlight them. We may be too frustrated that we are not quite like they are.   This is highlighted by a point in the sermon with, “We can genuinely celebrate each other without jealousy because we are a Gospel family.”  

My pastor also highlighted that sometimes we as Christians are not very good about accepting honor.  We are not accepting of the good compliments.  We can believe we have to act with mild or faux pride.  However, it is a good reminder to us that when we are being honored and celebrated by other Christians that we are just showing the work that Christ has shown in us.  We are not supposed to act prideful because of our own work or because we have changed ourselves, but rather we are supposed to be proud of the work God has done for us. He reminded us of this when he said, “We can honor without pride, because we know we have been transformed by the Gospel.”  We have been transformed, so we can be at peace knowing he loves us and has changed us for the better.  

Both of these situations are not loving.  It is not good to feel as though we are not willing to give honor or compliments to others.   It is not good to never encourage or never want to cheer them on.  This is highlighted in the last point from the sermon which says, “We can give honor without hesitation because we trust in God’s work through the Gospel.”  We can see God extend his Gospel work through us and through our encouragement.  

Another verse highlighting this idea is Philippians 2:3-4 which says, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”  It is important to count others as more significant than ourselves. It is important to look towards the family of Christ as a whole and how we can make each other better.  

My challenge for you this week is to find a few (2-3) fellow Christians to encourage and honor.  This could be people who really have encouraged you or inspired you to be closer to Christ.  Let them know how they have taught you, or how they have inspired you.  Let them know and encourage them.  I also want to encourage you to really appreciate a compliment when it is given to you.  Be willing to accept this compliment with love and not with fake humility.  Let us all continue to grow this Christian family.  

This last week I did something very exciting but at the same time challenging. I did something I had wanted to do for years, like since I was a young child and especially a teenager.  This is RAGBRAI.  RAGBRAI standards for Register annual great bike ride across Iowa.  (The Register is referring to the Des Moines Register Newspaper).

Ragbrai is what it sounds like based on its full title.  It is a bike ride across the state of Iowa, from the back tire dip in the Missouri River to the very ceremonious front tire dip in the Mississippi River across the way.  I am going to quote the description from the RAGBRAI website to better describe it in its entirety.  The website says, “RAGBRAI is an annual eight-day bicycle ride across the state. RAGBRAI is the oldest, largest and longest recreational bicycle touring event in the world.”   There are thousands of bikers every year who come and participate in this event.  Bikers come from all over the world, so that is very exciting for someone who has only lived in the state of Iowa her whole life. For example, I met someone from Australia and from South Africa. The route changes every year, and this particular year it was in southern Iowa where it is very hilly.  In fact, it was the hilliest year yet. (So glad, this was the one I chose to do first :))  

It was a challenge.  I was very exhausted.  I got sunburnt on both my upper thighs and my lower lip.  (I don’t know how many people reading have ever sunburned their lips, but it does really hurt, and it lasts forever!) I got a lot of bug bites.  However, I will also say it was one of the best experiences I have ever had.  I don’t think I will ever quite forget it, and I hope I will be able to participate in years to come.  There were definitely some life lessons I gained on this trip as well.  For one, make sure you protect yourself correctly from direct sunlight.  Another one is to make sure to hydrate yourself correctly and regularly, and I learned the importance of watching out for both myself and other bikers to avoid accidents.  

One life lesson that applies to both life and biking is to remember to break down our challenges.  We had some long days, where we biked 80-100 miles. It can be hard to start on mile 1 and think about the fact that one needs to make it to mile 85 by the end of the day.   It became a lot easier to think about just making it to the next town.  The first town may only be 10 miles away.  Once you get there, then maybe you could stop and get a drink, and make your way 15 miles to the next town.  It was so much easier to make it throughout the day when the mileage was broken down into shorter distances. 

It can be very similar to our everyday life.  Sometimes we can get overwhelmed and anxious about our walk throughout our whole life.  I know I can get overwhelmed and anxious about where my life will take me.  Will I get married?  Will I get my dream job?  Will I keep friends in my life?  Will I love where I live in the future?  However, this is not what I should focus on.  I need to make sure I just focus on the next thing.  I need to focus on making it through the day and getting the things accomplished I need to get accomplished in the present. I shouldn’t constantly be thinking about tomorrow or the next week, but rather today and today only.  

Matthew 6:34 speaks to this topic greatly.  This says, “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”  There are a lot of things for a person to worry about in a day.  Even today, I am constantly looking at my schedule and what I need to get done in the day.   I am trying to crunch the time, so I can get the most done in the most efficient manner.  However, then I also get distracted by all the things I want to get done in the next week or on the weekend.  This is definitely not helpful for me, and my anxiety will then only rise.  It would be much easier to only think of today.  

I won’t really have a challenge for you this week.  It is hard to challenge you to do less.  I have an encouragement for you all to be more reflective on your daily time.  Don’t start to get too worried about the future days.  Spend time in prayer, praising and thanking God for the day you have right in front of you, and ask for guidance and help to spend the time wisely making plans and only worrying about today.  

This weekend I went to my 10-year class reunion.   It was such a good time.  It was only a handful of us, but it was a good time to get together with those I hadn’t seen in a long time.  It was nice to see where life has taken each and every one of us.  Some of them were married with children, others had a few kids but were single moms, some were newly engaged or in other relationships. Some finished college and got the job they had always wanted, and some changed careers and positions recently.  Some moved to a new town or a new state they never would have imagined in high school. 

A lot can change in 10 years.  There are a lot of things people can accomplish.  There were so many wins to see and hear about from these past ten years.  But there were some sad stories.  There were some things that did not go as well planned as others would have liked.  There were some things people could not have predicted.  However, they got through it, and we were able to have a fun evening. 

Besides just having a fun time, being able to go to my ten year reunion was a great reminder that we are not in control of our life and our decisions.  When we all graduated, we all had slight plans and thoughts of what would be in our future.  Maybe we expected to already be married by a certain age or to have a specific job in the future.  Maybe some of us thought we would be living somewhere in particular and we are somewhere completely different.  Things change, people change, circumstances change, but I believe most of us from the reunion wouldn’t change completely where they are right now.  A lot of us were in happy places, even though we all had to get through low times.  

I even realized all of the great things I have gotten to do these past ten years.  I went and graduated from college, where I learned a lot about Cedar Falls and Waterloo.  While being a college student, I got the chance to work at a nonprofit, where it gave me the love of nonprofit work in general.  I studied and received my teaching degree.  I then had the opportunity to be a Spanish teacher for four years.  My original plan when graduating from college was to continue teaching, moving from Spanish to Social Studies.  However, I now have a new role at a nonprofit and I am an education coordinator back in my college town, which I would not have predicted originally.  I also had opportunities to learn to write and published a devotional book.  The Lord has really truly been with me every step of the way in this 10- year journey.  I am so happy I have been able to have the experiences I have been given.  I am so glad I was able to reflect on these ten years with the 10-year reunion party.  

There are a lot of verses in the Bible that bring up ways God plans for us and our futures.  Psalm 32:8 says, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”  This is a good reminder that God has great insight to what we should do and where we should go in both our present and in our future.   He will be guiding and helping us every step of the way.  Another verse is from Proverbs 16:9 which says, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”  We can make the plans, but God is the one who will establish the final direction of where we will go.  I am not saying it is wrong to make plans or it is wrong to schedule anything, but it is important to realize that we can only have so many plans because God is the one who will ultimately be the plan maker and decision decider.  The Lord can establish the steps and the Lord can fulfill all the dreams we want to do. He has certain wonderful and beautiful things in store for us.  

The challenge for this week is to reflect on these past few years.  It doesn’t necessarily have to be the past ten years.  It could even be the last one or two.  There are a lot of changes that can happen in a short amount of time.  There are a lot of things that go the way we expect, and yet there are a lot of things that do not go the way we plan or the way we expect.  It can be great to reflect over how life can change in ways we expect or in ways we don’t expect.  I believe this is important to notice, because then we can be more grateful for the ways God has continued to lead and love us. 

In church this past week, we went over Romans 8:14.  I really enjoy this verse, and I believe it has some great wisdom for all Christians to follow.  This verse says, “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.”  The Lord wants us to be clothed with the characteristics of Christ.   He wants us to put on pieces of Himself, so we can show off his qualities to the world. 

I really enjoyed how my pastor addressed this verse with us.  He described how we, as a population, do often care about our clothes.  I know I personally love to spend time picking out clothes, going shopping for clothes, and making a new style choice.  We can take time picking out clothes for different important occasions because we want them to say a certain thing about us.  Even if we have a uniform, some of us take pride in the uniform we earned.  I know I feel this way whenever I wear a race shirt or a race jacket after I have crossed the finish line.  This is especially if it was a really challenging or long race.  I can’t wait to wear it and show others what I recently accomplished.   

We as people should have similar belief and desire to be putting on the characteristics of Christ in the same way.  Sometimes, I don’t know if we always think of putting on Christ in all situations.  When you think about clothes, we wear them all the time.  We are constantly in some sort of clothing material, whether it be swimming clothes, pajamas, work clothes, working out sweats, etc.  We are constantly wearing something.  They are different, and they change, but there is always something. However, I don’t think we always put on the qualities of Christ for all different circumstances.  We may when we are in Bible group, or in church, but do we when we are driving or when we are at the store or when we are frustrated at work.  

My pastor stated that sometimes, we need to simply go into different situations with a heart change. Getting back to the driving example from the last paragraph, there are a lot of times we as people can show impatience and lack of love when we are driving, and this is especially when we are in a hurry or a rush.  Sometimes we don’t plan out our mornings as well as we should, and then we are driving to work or some other event, we may not be as on time as we would like.  Because of this we get frustrated by any driver in front of us, who is driving slower than we would prefer.  However, if we go into the car with a Christ like attitude, then we are more than likely to be kind and loving when we are driving, even if something does happen we don’t particularly appreciate.  

My worst offender is at the Grocery store.  I hate going to the grocery store.  I don’t know what it is that makes me hate it so much, but I am always so anxious and filled with dread whenever I am headed toward the grocery store.  I really don’t like it when it is a very busy day, and there are people filled all through the aisles or when the lines at the grocers take a long time to get through.  I try really hard to keep my patience in check, but there are definitely times when I struggle while shopping. 

So what exactly is the clothes or the personalities of Christ we need to be putting on?  I mentioned one in the last paragraph, which is patience.  Galatians 5:22-23 specifically talks about the personalities or the qualities we need to have to be like Jesus Christ.  This says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance (patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”  The fruit of the spirit is the qualities and the personalities we need to put on, on a regular basis.  

The biggest of this spirit is love.  Out of our love for others, we will be willing to be more joyful, peaceful, patient, gentle, and showing self-control.  No matter how unkind or how cruel they are to you, it is still willing to be loving or kind or filled with patience.  This is being willing to be faithful to the Lord and to your morals and values, even when it isn’t the most convenient.  These are the qualities we need to put on everyday.  It will take practice, and we will not always get it right, but the point is to try our best to be as close to Christ and to be the most loving we can be, on a daily basis.  

My challenge for you this week is to spend time thinking about the times when you are not always putting on the clothes of Christ.  I already mentioned the times when I don’t have the clothes of Christ.   Where is the area or even people where you most struggle to put on the outfit of Christ?  Then the second challenge is whenever you next approach this situation, take some extra time praying to avoid becoming un-Christ-like.  Maybe, take some time reflecting on your ability to be Christ like no matter what life throws at you.  It isn’t always easy, but it is always worth it.  

I will be completely transparent that I have been struggling with my finances.  I know many others also feel this way about their finances, especially recently as the last few years everything has become more expensive. I have been working really hard to get my finances in a better position than they were a few years ago, but sadly, it is just not going the way I wish it would. I know there are many times I need to depend on Him and His sovereignty, but I just really struggle and I end up getting really stressed about it.  In fact, I will be honest when I say I have some panic attacks because of my payments or because the bills are due.  Sometimes when something comes up, and I don’t know what to do financially, I will even get fairly upset with God at this moment.  

I have felt in my heart that God is really calling me to trust Him more and more with these issues.  He keeps reminding me about this every time I have an issue in my finances.  If I am honest, I think sometimes I am a bit angry with Him for the state I am in financially.  I know this isn’t how I should be, but there are just a few times I really struggle with not blaming Him for the place I am in.  I know it is ultimately my decisions landing me here, but it can still be easy for me to want to blame someone else, or in this case God.  

It is an odd thing I haven’t learned how to trust Him because I have been given so much, so many blessings, in the last few years when it comes to finances.  For example, while I have been struggling, God has given me a new opportunity to be a cross country coach at Waterloo Christian school.  This will be one, another just great opportunity, but two a way to help me with my finances in the future.  This just came because of a simple conversation with someone from my church.  I didn’t need to find this on a job site or wait for a long time as my application was processed with others.  The Lord blessed me, and I didn’t even really have to do a whole lot to get this opportunity.  

I know there are many reasons God is having me struggle a bit with my finances.  I know this is because he wants me to depend on Him more as opposed to depending on myself.  I am one who is easily able to focus on myself and all the things I can accomplish or I can provide or all the things I am capable of.  It is important for me to feel like I matter in society, and not feel as though I am just worthless.  However, this is not what God calls from us.  He calls us to be dependent on Him.  He calls us to pray to Him and for us to ask things of Him.  

I do want to say it is important to care about your finances.  I think it is important to be wise with one’s money.  A person shouldn’t just be spending money here and there.  They need to be wise in their decisions.  They need to be willing to think about how their money decisions may impact them in the future.  It can also be helpful to be wise with money, so we can have an opportunity to steward missions or actions happening in our church.  

1 Peter 5:5-7 explains this perfectly.  This says, “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.’  Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you.”  There are many reasons this verse stands out to me for this topic.  The first point is to clothe yourself with humility.  I was just talking about how there is pride when it comes to me and my finances.  I feel the need to take care of myself completely.  I don’t want to depend on anyone else or be a burden on anyone else, but I want to feel as though I can depend on me to make my situation better.  However, this verse reminds us that God wants us to put on a robe of humility, and He reminds us that He opposes the proud but He lifts up and empowers the humble.  

However, my favorite part about these verses is the reminder that God wants us to depend on Him.  He wants us to lift up all of our concerns to Him and to tell Him whenever we are very stressed or anxious.  I believe this verse shows God’s great care about us.  He shows He has great concern and love for us, even when sometimes we want to go different ways, or even during the times we are too prideful to really ask Him for help.  

The challenge for you this week is to think of the biggest stressor you have in your life.  It may be financial situations like it is for me, but if it isn’t financial, if it is relationships, friendships, work situations, family problems, health issues, or whatever it is your concern, I want you to feel as though you can go to God for help and love.  He wants to be there for you for whatever it is you need.  He doesn’t want you to suffer.  He doesn’t want you to be sad or anxious.  He doesn’t want you to be prideful either, or only depend on yourself.  He wants to help, so the second part of the challenge is to go to Him with any of the concerns you may have and to let Him help you.