Mrs. Santa

Completely off the normal Hannah-topics... I love my little personal blender. As a college student, this thing is possibly more valuable than a microwave. At least for a college student who loves fruit and yogurt. My current frugal (cheap) combination? Frozen fruit (mix of strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries), one little Yoplait yogurt, and purple G2 powerade to thin it up a tad. (I had bananas, but they seem to go bad in this room faster than I've ever seen before) It's an easy fix, more nutritional than the cafeteria's offerings, and definitely yummy! And the best part? Being a single serving blender, cleanup is a breeze.. Rinse it out once.. Throw in some soap.. Some hot water.. Shake it around.. And voila! A clean blender and a happy Hannah =)

The neat thing about this blender? When I was doing my first clinical, I was talking with one of my patients, we'll call her Mrs. Santa, about my college experiences(she was also in the healthcare field, so she asked me *lots* of questions), and she asked me if I had one of these. I told Mrs. Santa that I didn't, but it was on my Christmas wish list. On my last day of clinical, she showed up with one and plopped it in my lap. I was shocked! I tried to thank her, but she refused, saying that Santa had told her to deliver it early for him ;-). I am fairly certain this is the first-ever gift I have ever gotten from Santa! And it's not a "bullet," it's a high-end one that works incredibly well. I doubt she knows just how much she has blessed me by that small gift!

Just goes to show, a small act of kindness can go a long ways. She encouraged me to look for the little things I can do for other people to make their life easier/more joyful! What was so neat about the way Mrs. Santa did this for me was that she didn't look or ask for recognition. She just wanted to make me smile and show me her appreciation. I dare you to be a "Santa" this week(yes, I know it's almost February and I should be talking about Cupid, not Santa). Find something that you can do for someone, big or small, and do it in a subtle way. Don't do it for recognition, but rather do it with the attitude of blessing them and bringing them joy. They will notice, you will bless them, and it will please God!

Obedient Child

Hypocritical people have surrounded me this week, and I'm growing tired of it. Not of the people, but of the hypocritical attitudes.

When I look at a person who doesn't know Christ, I can honestly say I don't expect anything better from them. But from a believer, it is completely unacceptable! 

How can you talk of Him, tell how He is your focus, call yourself a follower of Him, and yet turn around and cuss, drink, smoke, or even less bland, become immersed in a world that isn't of Him? You don't have to be drinking, smoking, or cussing to walk away from His will and image. It can be as simple as becoming angry with someone over something that has no eternal significance, yelling at someone, ripping them to pieces in your mind, let your mind wander somewhere it shouldn't be, or joining in with the normal gossip that the world deems acceptable.

So many Christians (myself included) seem to think that as long as you don't do the "bad" things, you are still walking in His will... We're fooling ourselves with that idea. It will only drag us into a cycle of pretending to be a person who follows His will. You cannot follow His will if you do not know His will. And you can not know His will unless you are saturating every part of your mind and day with His Word. The level to which you know His Word, you will know Him. 

"Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, "You shall be Holy, for I Am Holy." 

And if you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each  man's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay upon earth;" (1 Peter 1:13-17)

I read this passage this week after falling to a level of anger, hurt, and frustration.. I went through it over, and over, and over again. As His child, my hope is to be completely in Him... As an obedient child, I am not to be conformed to the same things that a person would be if they didn't know Him. As an obedient child, I am supposed to be like Him. HOLY. Set-apart. 

You cannot be angry over little things, harboring those hurt feelings, and please Him. It doesn't work. In the same way you can't have two faces, cuss, act impurely, or gossip. He showed me this this week, and it hurt.. I spent a lot of time praying about it, rereading this passage, and writing my hurt out to Him. I still don't understand why I was so incredibly upset.. But I do know that it was not of Him. The enemy saw a weak spot and he hit it with a vengeance, which got the reaction that he wanted. 

He hasn't won, though. He will not win. By the grace of God, and His grace alone, I will follow His lead... I am sure there will be moments where I won't show Him like I should. Moments where I become angry, or want to slip into the "easy" way of things. In those moments, He is showing me where I need to work.. What I need to let go of, who I need to forgive, where I need to let Him scrub off as He writes His words on my heart. It's a painful and humbling process. It's not fun, and it's hard for me to let Him do it when I feel like others look at me and think I'm inferior. But He is worth more to me than anyone else ever will be. And for Him? An obedient child is what I want to be.

Acceptance

What is it about the human heart that desires to be accepted?
How is it that something that someone says about you can prick at the deepest part of your heart.. Even if you don't know the person, or it happened a long time ago?

We thrive off of acceptance.
We live when we know that people 'like' us.

People didn't like Jesus.
They tried to kill Him.
They did kill Him.
Horrifically.

And yet He Loved them.

He died to save the soldiers that placed the nail over the fragile, human skin on his hands and feet. For the people who stood there spitting and cursing His precious name. For the disciples who denied knowing the One who knew them. For every person that did not accept Him, but even more, tried to kill Him.

He didn't let their view change what He knew. That He was there to do His Father's work. He was there to save the people. He was there to bring them hope.

We are here to do His work. To let them know that He is here to save them. Our differences from the world is what makes us stand apart from them. Not better than them. But saved. Because of what He did, amid the hate, scorn, and rejection.

We are defined by Him. By His name, we have been saved. Not by what we do. If we are living to serve Him, then we should not be impacted by the shallowness that surrounds us. Because we are surrounded by it, this world is dripping with shallowness and selfishness.

And yet through that, His Love Never Fails.

Ever.

Faith, Hope, Love

2012 is here and 8 days gone. 2011 was a fantastic year... Between graduating from the community college, working a job that I loved, and moving away from home... There was a lot going on. But it was my favorite year so far, I think. In 2011 I learned about really loving people for who they were. I learned to keep my mouth shut and listen. I learned to let other people go before myself. I learned to truly, honestly listen. And I learned to keep relationships strong even from 300 miles away.

Now here I am, dumped back into a cold 12x12 room, in the northern-most part of MI. I do not want to love. I want to put my head down, get through school, and get outta here and back home. It's not all bad, God has given me some friends here, and I enjoy being with them. I just.. Want to be home. A homebody, I am.

"Faith, Hope, and Love, these three. But the greatest of these is love"

Memorizing 1 Corinthians 13 over last semester and winter break, I have found myself praying that chapter more often than just reciting it. I prayed it when I needed patience or guidance in my relationship, I prayed it when my sisters were driving my crazy and I needed to respond kindly.

I don't want to pray that here. I just want to be.

I'm fighting that right now.. I'm fighting my desire to just get 'er done and get myself back home. And I'm fighting His desire, that I take this chance to Love the people that are around me, like I have been Loved by Him.

My selfishness will not get His will done. He placed me here, out of all schools, for a reason. Who am I to say that it isn't to speak into someone's life? I'm here to be patient, kind, unselfish, bearing all, believing all, and hoping in all He has said to me.

Mom gave me wall stickers for Christmas that are now above my desk.. "Faith, Hope, Love." Every time I have read that, my mind continues the verses.. I will be praying it frequently, because He knows that I need it. I'm going to look for a way to show Love to those I deemed unlovable last semester, and I am going to try to Love them in the only way I know how. Like He Loved me.

One Hour

I have no long list of New Year's resolutions written out.. No bullet points, no goal sheets. I figure that with 12 weeks of classes, 10 weeks of clinical, graduating with my degree, and then my boards exam 2 weeks later, I will have enough goals and deadlines to kill a college student =P Instead of goals, I have a desire that has been pressing on my heart that I am going to make a commitment to this year.

What is it? Time with Him. I am going to set aside 1 hour with Him each week to pray. It'll be the same time every week. I've been mulling this idea for the past 3 weeks, and the more I mull, the more I want that time with Him. When it will be? I don't know yet, I'll figure that out exactly when I get to school.. But I know when it will be this week, and I am anticipating it.

My hope is that as I literally schedule that, it will become easier for me. I have a difficult time sitting and praying for an extended amount of time. *Especially* at school. But that hour is His!

You could say that I want I make this year focused on Him. I can't really even describe how I have come to desire and long to spend time with Him over this last semester. To talk to Him, and to *know* Him. Curling up with my Bible, praying, reciting memory verses that turn into a prayer... I love it. I really honestly, *love* it! This year is, for me, a year devoted to getting to really *know* Him. For Who He is, for what He has done, and for what He will do in this next year... I want 2012 to be about making lasting changes that will impact those who come in contact with me, for *Him*. 'Cause then this year will really, honestly count.

"Like" vs. "Love"

Like I said, when you say "Love" you had better mean it!!! Grilled cheese and God are not equals ;-)