Walk 7

Look back.

"Already you've read about God's masterful creation of the universe, the first sin an its spread throughout humanity, Noah and his ark, the tower of Babel and the scattering of the nations, and God's promise to Abraham to make him a father of a nation special to God." 

Look up.

"That's not the picture of a distant, detached deity, but of a powerful yet personal God of Creation who not only made you but also wants to guide and provide for you each day of your life."

Look ahead.

"In Hebrews 11 you'll find enshrined the names of many of the heroes of faith you will be meeting 'up close and personal' over the next few months. But notice the last half of verse 6: 'Anyone who comes to him must believe that [God] exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.'"

These are the three little sections in today's walk. Walk 7 was just a catch up day, either to read what you had missed or to sit back and reflect on what you had read.

So here is my reflection:

This year,

I want to get rid of the hesitation,

the shyness,

saying "but". 

I want to get rid of the excuses.

Have you ever had these urges,

strong urges,

to do something, but you ignore them?

Because you're "shy",

"afraid",

"hesitant".

And when your window of opportunity passes,

you get that feeling. 

Have you ever done something really wrong, and instead of getting angry and yelling, your parents just tell you how disappointed they are in the most somber tone you've ever heard?

That feeling is the crappiest.

The feeling of disappointing someone.

That's the feeling I'm talking about.

Except it's worse because, after you hesitate to do something, you know that you've only let yourself down. You know that that window will never present itself like that again, and you've missed out on something truly great.

I'm really tired of getting that feeling because I was too shy or scared.

I think I've started to realize that maybe that strong urge isn't me, maybe it's God.

Maybe it's Him calling me to take a moment and be bold, instead of the quiet, reserved person I am.

This year I want to get rid of that disappointed feeling. 

I want to follow those urges, granted I get any.

They're not really a common occurrence.

In all the readings this past week, I think the thing that's stood out to me is Faith.

From the faith that Noah had to the willingness Abraham had for the Lord. 

They didn't hesitate.

They didn't question.

They didn't care what other people thought of them, because all that mattered to them was what God thought of them.

I want to be more like that.

I need to trust God more.

Without Him, I'm hopeless.

I don't want to be hopeless.

I want to be loved, and hopeful, and found in Him.

I truly want this commitment to read the Bible through in a year to bring me closer to God.

I remember either last year or the year before, my youth group did a challenge to read the Bible through in a year.

I think they called it the "Logos" challenge, or maybe that was the group name.

Anyways, if I remember correctly, I think I got a strong urge for that.

But I ignored it.

I made excuses.

I told myself that I was too busy.

That I had too many other commitments.

That I couldn't/wouldn't with my health.

Blah blah blah... the list goes on.

However, 

this time is different for some reason.

Maybe it's just because all I've been doing is lounging around at home,

but I actually feel like I know that I'll complete this.

I feel... almost confident about it.

I hope that confidence doesn't go away when I go back to school.

But I'm determined to keep at it.

And that's saying something for me.

I'm notorious for not finishing projects that aren't school related.

Being healthy?

That lasts around two weeks for exercising and good eating.

Except last summer where I exercised pretty well for about two months, but I had a horrible diet.

Craft projects?

I usually end up bored or distracted half way through and just leave the mess sitting on my floor.

It's a real problem...

but I don't want this commitment to reading to be a problem.

I think blogging about it will help me.

Even though no one reads my posts, I still feel like I'm writing to someone.

That maybe someone does care and, dare I say, depend on reading this stuff.

I guess you could kind of tell that through how I write, like I'm actually writing to someone.

But that would be amazing, to know that someone liked and depended on reading what I write each day.

Maybe one day.

Until then, I'll just sound a little crazy.

Crazy but in love with God...

I can be happy with that. :)

Good things on the 7th of January:

< Sorry it's sideways.

Yayyy for super blurry pictures. Charlie doesn't like to hold still :/

• Having some White Pear tea with breakfast this morning.
• Making a yummy chicken parmesan quesadilla for lunch today on the grill/griddle/panini maker.
• Chloe going to a sleepover at her friend's house. This make the good things list because the house was a lot quieter and less stressful after she left. However, I also didn't like it. Don't tell her, but I missed her. Maybe I should tell her that when Mom picks her up tomorrow. Sisters need to hear that kind of thing! :)
• Making a pharaoh's headpiece to put on our dog, Charlie. Why? Cause I could. Did it work? Nope, not at all. The headpiece was big anyways, and I cut the stretchy string too long so it didn't function like it should have. 
• Reading Walk 7.
• Making some White Pomegranate tea after dinner.

Mom and I went in this home-goods store, I guess you could call it, called Parmida when we went shopping with Grandma yesterday. That's where we bought the tea. They were so cute! They come in small boxes with individual servings. Also, there are a bunch of flavors to choose from! Honestly though, I couldn't tell much difference between the two teas. I don't know if I let the White Pear Tea seep long enough, because I didn't taste anything pear-y about it. I thought I seeped the White Pomegranate Tea longer, but I didn't taste any pomegranate in it. They were good teas though, and I'm not a very big tea drinker. Especially hot teas. Give me some ice-cold sweet tea and I'll be set. I have the Acai Green Tea to try next!

<3 MG