All or Nothing

Sometimes I really feel like in this life it's either all or nothing...either you get no sun because you used sunscreen, or you get burned because you didn't. You get a really good night's sleep or you don't sleep at all. You're super busy or super bored...now this may seem like an exaggeration, and I guess to an extent it is, but sometimes it just feels like that's the pattern. I was lying in bed last night trying to sleep (it was one of those no sleep nights for me) and I started thinking about this pattern. I heard a quote once that said something along the lines of this: "You can't give God partial Lordship over your life. Either He's Lord of everything, or He isn't Lord of anything." When I read that, it really struck a nerve with me because no matter how much I try to deny that fact or try to keep certian areas of my life to myself without surrendering them to God, the truth still stands. If I am not readily willing and able to give over every aspect of my life to Him without holding back, no matter what it means I have to change or give up, then I am not where God wants me to be. In order for him to use me, I have to be in a place of complete surrender, because otherwise I run the risk of taking credit for the things that He does through me. If there are things in my life that I can't bear to let go of or give up for the sake of my Lord, what kind of disciple am I? There should be nothing that is  more valuable to me than a relationship with Him, and a life that is pleasing to Him. And, as with many other things in life, our relationship with God has to be all or nothing. The word lordship actually means authority. If I obey part of God's words but not all of them, it's still considered disobedience. Partial lordship really isn't lordship at all. And God will never take lordship over our lives by force--he wants us to hand it over to him freely and without holding anything back.

But I Like Walks in the Park!!

Today I am faced with a new perspective on many things...and I'm finding that keeping perspective is often difficult--and painful. I am learning, slowly but surely, how to be happy no matter what the situation. I am going from being a person whose mood is easily affected by circumstances and others' actions to a person who is more independent, in control of her emotions, and who has more of a say of what mood she's in. It's been a slow process, but I can see parts of myself start to emerge that I didn't realize were there before...and I'm loving it. The cliche phrase "Too blessed to be stressed" is indeed corny, but I definitely feel like it fits for me (in the least corny way possible). Sure, there are things I could find to complain about, things that don't go my way, things I wish I could change....whatever. We all have those things. But when I look around me and at all the things God has given me, I can't help but be thankful because there is no way I could've gotten here on my own. I think sometimes it's too easy to complain about the things we can't control, and we lose sight of all the good things we have to be grateful for. I have a daily devotion app on my iPhone, and today the devotion was on just that:
"When we complain about our current situation, we remain in it; when we praise God in the midst of difficulty, He raises us out of it. The best way to start every day is with gratitude and thanksgiving. Get a jump on the devil. If you don't fill your thoughts and conversation with good things, he will definitely fill them with evil things. Truly thankful people do not complain. They are so busy being grateful for the good things that they have no time to notice the things they could complain about. Praise and thanksgiving are good; complaining and grumbling are evil." - Joyce Meyer
I don't know about you, but that really hits a nerve for me. Actually, it's more like a slap in the face. Sometimes we have to go through some things that are, lets say, less than desirable, in order to get us to where we need to be. No one wants to work out those first few times before it becomes a habit- it's hard and we're so used to being lazy. No one wants to start that 15 page research paper because the first part is always the worst. No one wants to look at their upcoming semester and know that it is going to be extremely busy and stressful--(that's me!). BUT, the end result of all of these not so fun things is completion, satisfaction, and good results from not so good activities. God never promised that our lives would be a walk in the park. (I can hear my brain saying, "but I like walks in the park!!") He did, however, promise that he would be with us every step of the way and that his grace and strength is sufficient to get us through. How much do we have to be thankful for today (and every day)?!