A different way of thinking

So a few months ago, I read one of the books that Rachel Joy Scott's parents, Darrell Scott and Beth Nimmo, wrote after her death in the Columbine shootings. The book I read, Rachel's Tears, shared stories from Rachel's parents, as well as some of Rachel's journal entries from various journals and scraps of paper that she had in her room and her backpack. One part of this book really struck me as cool. This is something Rachel and her dad shared frequently apparently.

"One of Rachel’s favorite bible studies that we did together was about the difference between the seed and the sod. I had helped her to understand that we were made from dirt and our bodies will return to dirt. However, that dirt is the planting ground for an eternal seed. Farmers don’t look for clean dirt when they plant seeds. They don’t vacuum all the dirt out of the garden so the seeds won’t get dirty. They need the dirt for the seed to grow. In fact, sometimes the dirt isn’t dirty enough, so they spread cow manure over the dirt to make it dirtier! They call this rich soil.

"When we focus our eyes on “self,” we’re looking at the dirt. When we focus on the seed growing in the dirt, we produce fruit! It is so important to understand that the Christian walk is not me becoming perfect; it’s Christ growing to perfection in me. There are two verses that sound contradictory in the bible, and yet they form a complete truth: “I can of mine own self do nothing,” and “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

Rachel knew the difference between the seed and the sod. She knew that once the seed began to grow, people would no longer look at the dirt, but instead focus on the emerging fruit of that seed. She knew she wasn’t perfect. But she realized that god was doing some wonderful things within her."

These are things that I never thought about when I read things like the parable of the sower and the seed. It's a very good example of looking at more than just the surface of the parables and their meanings. I am continually amazed at the depths of God in every way, and how I can always learn things and think about things in a way that I've never thought about before. I love how God gives us all different spiritual insights and ways of thinking so that we can share those with others to help them.

But enough rambling, I just thought others might enjoy that as well. :)

Finally! A New Post!

So it's been a while since I've posted! :) I've been finishing up my junior year of high school, and summer has been a busy one! I just got back from four weeks of our Kansas camps, both staffing and camping. And this coming Monday I will be leaving the country for Colombia on a short term missions trip! Yay! :) After that, we will have our church VBX, and then Fine Arts Nationals in Orlando, Florida. So the posts will probably still be seldom for a couple of weeks, but hopefully they will still be somewhat meaningful. :)

Those who know your name will trust in you,
for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.
Psalm 9:10

I absolutely love this verse! God's will for us is active every second of every day. I know from multiple experiences that God's will is always much better than my own, or anyone else's, plan. We might think that our idea of something or plan for something is better than what is happening, but it never is. Never. For some reason, we think that we know everything that there is to know and that we are in control. Well, no matter how hard and continuously we may try, we will not be able to make the right decisions on our own. We can see in our own lives that God does not disappoint us, so why would we go back to thinking our way is better? I'm not really sure.

We need to make our faith in God and His plan for our lives stronger every day. How do we do that? Well, we need to start by following Him in our everyday lives, with the little responsibilities that He gives us. We need to do what He tells us to, even if we think it will be harmful to us. Because God does not harm us. Some of the things we think are harmful really don't hurt us at all. I am not saying that we become impenetrable, but those things are not from God. And when we do get "hurt" doing something that God has asked us to do, we should praise God. Because when we suffer for the name of Christ, that becomes a witness to others about our faith and His truth.

So do not go around thinking that your plan for your life is better than what God has for your life. God will take care of you far better than you can ever imagine. I dare you to give it all up to Him, and see what he will do with your life.