Summertime

Somehow another month is starting to draw to a close and I'm simply standing amazed that I've marked off yet another set of days! This month has had challenges as I've navigated through it on crutches in my super-stylish boot but overall things are great!

I've finished my semester at school and have been thoroughly enjoying the break in my schedule to do a whole lot of nothing and also to spend time with people I love! It's been such a blessing to have my calendar wide open to whatever opportunities present themselves!

I'm not looking forward to returning to the classroom next fall but for the first time in many years, summer has real meaning! :) I did manage to pull off an A in my extremely challenging class though so I'm thinking that all the hours spent at my dining room table studying were worth it! I've never worked so hard for a grade in my life. It's all steps in this journey for me but I'm so very excited about what God has in store for the next moments and days! I believe that there is so much good and I simply want to cherish every moment that He gives!

Living out loud, arms open to possibilities, singing at the top of my lungs, twirling under the stars. That's how I'm feeling these days! Hope your moments are just as joyous!

You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
~Psalm 16:11

Detours

There is some funny irony in the fact that I wrote about taking risks on Friday and later that day I decided to do something I normally might not and ended up in the emergency room. No major problems but I'm not going to be running marathons anytime in the near future! :)

The thing is though, even though the result wasn't what I would have chosen, I still kind of think that the risk I took was probably worth it. It was a bit of a freak accident but I was having fun up until it happened and I really do believe that God will use even my current situation for good. I know that it is pushing me out of my chosen comfort zone and forcing me to evaluate, yet again, what I truly find my identity in. Funny how lessons I think I've learned often show up in different forums as I move through life! It's also showing me how truly blessed I am with the relationships I have in my world and how amazing it is to yet again see the body of Christ working together!

I'm not going to say that it's been all roses (and my deepest apologies to anyone who has had to deal with me being grumpy) but I do know that there are lessons to be learned even in the challenges. Sometimes it's good for me to be pushed down a bit so that I can truly put into practice those things that I tend to talk about a lot. This journey isn't coming to a quick end I'm afraid but I hope that through it all I can find ways to minister to others while allowing them to minister to me. Sometimes it's hard to not want to throw myself a pity party but I'm really going to try to avoid it (and feel free to call me on it if you see me going down that road). I'm finding silver linings and working through what is really only a very small detour in a path that I don't even see clearly most of the time!

Oh yeah, and if anyone wonders, it's not as if this is a surprise to God so I'm quite certain He'll use it for His purposes if I don't become a big sourpuss! God's just cool like that.

So, I still say that you should take risks. I might recommend you don't fall off a wall though! :)

Risk

I saw this video last night and it really struck a chord with me. The truth, and something I've mentioned before, is that I can so easily let myself be paralyzed by fear instead of boldly stepping out into new situations. It's something that I know I need to always allow God to work in and it's also a place where I feel like I've made progress through the years. Yet I still find myself shying away from situations that make me feel as though I can't succeed or that require great risks. I recognize that it's really silly for me to fear when I'm backed up by the God of the universe but I still find myself doing it.

All that said, this video reminds me of why I always need to be pursuing risks when God opens doors. Life is never about just being safe. There's nothing that I can do to add to or take away from the number of days that He has ordained for me. Regardless of how scared I might be to jump, I can do so knowing that God goes before me and when my primary pursuit is Him then I'm freed to live with arms truly wide open. I want Him to look at my life and be proud of the way I grasped things He placed before me. I want to learn to both succeed and fail boldly.

Risks are sometimes meant to be taken. That's where you'll often find God holding you!