Be confident!!

Posted by Morgan
I'm learning so much right now. Simple lessons that have been told to me for years, but yet, for some reason, I'm now learning how they apply and affect my life. 

Be confidant in who you are. It's so true. I know this, and I learned a lot about this and learning how to walk this out at IMPACT, but I'm re-learning it in a new way. It's easy to do that kind of stuff at IMPACT where the community is great and the acceptance is pretty certain. But at college people don't have to like you, they don't have to see you every day, and some people don't like who you are. And that's okay.

Be yourself. There is so much power in standing firm and walking in who Christ has made you to be. That's my challenge for you. It's simple and sounds very middle school-ish. But don't lose sight of who you are. Don't get swept away in school work and activities that you constantly adapt to the surroundings to blend in. Be who you are, and if you stand out because you love Jesus - that's even better!

Singing Harmony,
Morgan
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10 Things

Posted by Morgan
I think it might be possible that the best blog posts come out of pure procrastination.

I've been thinking a lot about being myself lately. What does that look like and who I am. And also, how to not let others opinions influence me and my stance on things. Now, some of the things on this list I'm about to embark on making are shallow and silly, but some have a bigger meaning. But all of this is part of me. You'll see! :)

1. I like Lucky Charms and yes I know there absolutely no nutritional value in them. I mean, come on it's marshmallows in cereal....how do you not love that?! They are magically delicious. And the rainbow is my favorite marshmallow, because even in a silly thing like lucky charms, I am still reminded of the promise God made when he created the first rainbow in the sky. :)

2. I don't match my socks. EVER. I think it makes life a little more enjoyable and fun. I mean, everyone matches their socks....be a little different, don't give in to peer pressure, don't conform to society!!! haha. Okay, maybe the last one is a little bit extreme, but still. Be different. 

3. I like cats. Yes, cats. The animal. The creature that God created. I don't care if you call them the spawn of Satan, or you call them devil cats.  I love them. And just as a side note to call you cat haters, you probably shouldn't call a part of God's creation a spawn of Satan...I'm just saying. ;)

4. I like the rain. I like before it rains, while it's raining, and after it rains. It makes me think about life and how storms will come and stuff will get hard, but one day the rain will clear and the sun will shine and everything will be beautiful again. I probably like the rain because God's taught me a lot of hard lessons when I was actually IN the rain. Also, everything it's raining, I want to either do one of two things: 1. Go play in it and jump in puddles. or 2. Go run it in. I wanna grab my iPod and tennis shoes and go run! I love it. (disclaimer: I still reserve the right to complain about the rain from time to time haha)


5. When I sing, I don't wear shoes if I can. For me, music is what takes me into God's presence. To me, it's Holy ground.


6. I like to eat healthy and I do like to exercise, but when I want to, I'm going to eat a cookie. Or a piece of cake, or something. I love chocolate.


7. I hate it when girls don't feel beautiful and comfortable in who they are. I want to help girls understand that God made them beautiful, and he loves them the way they are!! It's something I'm finally coming to grasp. People are beautiful to me. My friend told me the other day that she didn't know an ugly person, and I began to think about it, and I realized, I don't either. I love to beauty in people. I want God to continue to let me see people the way he does.


8. I don't wear make-up half the time, and when I do it's pretty light. I love going natural. I feel free, if that makes sense. I don't ever want make-up to become a crutch for me. I don't ever want it to become something I hide behind. Make-up is NOT bad at all. I like it. But for me, I never want to hide who I am behind a pretty face of make-up. I want make-up to enhance the beauty God has given me.

9. I want to face hard situations and react with joy and hope to see what God is going to do. That's my desire, and with God's help, I'm slowly getting there.


10. I just want to be myself. I never want to compromise who I am because of the people or circumstance around me. I want to always be me 24/7.



Singing Harmony,
Morgan

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God is Good

Posted by Morgan
It's always amazing to me how God provides just what we need when we need it. And I think that if that ever STOPS amazing me then I will be worried. I never want to take the amazing things God does for granted.

I went home this weekend, and let's just say it did not go according to plan whatsoever. You know, so far, 2010 has not gone as planned. I guess that's one more way of God telling me that my life is not my own and that he has a better plan. Well anyway, I was told to check my email one morning over the weekend, and when I logged on I received this wonderful list of all the things someone loves about me - MADE MY DAY.

God is good.

Singing Harmony,
Morgan
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Never Forgotten

Posted by Morgan
I realized something this morning. I am 100% okay with being myself. I'm quickly getting to the point where that really is okay with me. Yeah, I certainly have my quirks, and I get goofy and weird from time to time - just ask my roommate and suite-mates. But I'm okay with that.

I'm okay with having a sensitive heart. It's part of who I am. I'm a compassionate person. It's how God made me. I care about people and I care about my friends. It's part of who I am. I know that I will still struggle with certain things from time to time as every one does. But this morning and today I just had this revelation when I was sitting listening to some of my friends talk. 

In order to explain I must first backtrack a little, so here we go. A lot of the time I feel like I am a forgettable person, and it has always been quite frustrating to me. I love my friends and I never want to leave anyone out, but a lot of the time I feel left out. Sometimes this is a legitimate feeling, and sometimes this is the extremely sensitive side of me that takes over and I have to give myself a reality check. But I have come a long way with this, and for that I am thankful because I know I could not have come this far without Jesus Christ.

As I sat listening to them talk about things and conversations they had when they hung out and I wasn't there, amazingly, I was like okay whatever. I love my friends, I truly do, and if you are reading this and don't know me, please believe that I do. And if you are reading this and you do know me, I truly hope you know that. 

This calming feeling came over me as I listened to them talk and God said to me, Morgan, it's okay. Soon there will be a person in your life who will never forget you. And until he comes, know that I have NEVER forgotten you.

I'm good with being me. I'm good with being who I am and resting in knowing that God loves me. I love to be included yes, but I don't want to be included out of obligation. I'm good with being me. And I have peace knowing that I am never forgotten by God, and one day there will be a man who will never forget me either.

SInging Harmony,
Morgan
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Go and find yourself a leprechaun...

Posted by Morgan
So about 5 minutes ago, I walked into my suite-mates room and announced, for the millionth time that I did not want to do my homework. I really just had absolutely no desire to do anything productive. So I laid on the floor and asked if anyone, Meghan or Chelsea, had a solution to my problem. And Chelsea moved her coat, which was obstructing me from her vision, looked down and me and said the following.

"Go and find yourself an out of work leprechaun and sneak him back into your dorm and make HIM do your homework. And if he wants he can clean your room before Wednesdays, and he can sleep in the bottom of your closet because he is short enough. And because he is a leprechaun, you can pay him in skittles."

And that was Chelsea's solution to my problem. Now, where do I find an out of work leprechaun...... ;)


Singing Harmony,
Morgan


FIVE MINUTES AFTER POSTING:


Me: Meghan, where can I find an out of work leprechaun?
Meghan: At the end of a rainbow.
Me: *Laughter*
Meghan: Oh, in the cafeteria by the Lucky Charms!!
Me: *continued laughter*



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Destination: Unknown

Posted by Morgan



This path that I'm walking, you laid out for me
The air that I'm breathing, you gave it to me

And this life that I'm living, it's not my own
This place that I'm heading, it's Destination: Unknown

So in my life be glorified, in my words, God, be lifted high
In all that I say and in all that I do I want it to bring glory to you

This life that I'm living, it's not my own
This place that I'm heading, it's Destination: Unknown

And this love that I'm feeling, you poured over me
And I know that I'm heading towards what you've planned for me. 



I don't know where I'm going, but I've learned that's okay. God's in control.


Singing Harmony,
Morgan

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Relience

Posted by Morgan
You know when you have those days where nothing seems to go like you thought it would? Well I've recently had one of those days. Everything you've said seems to have gotten twisted into something it's completely not and now you are left with the mess to fix and clean up, not to mention the relationships you have to salvage and mend!

Well upon my reflection of the recent events, God has reminded me of a phrase that I know everyone has heard: People will let you down, God is the only one you can truly rely on 24/7. Now regardless of how exactly you've heard that, you've probably heard that previous sentence in some form or fashion. 

Now, over the past few days when things have gone wrong, or I've gotten frustrated with something or something hurts me, my immediate reaction is to pick up the phone and call someone or go find someone to talk to about the situation. Not just any random person mind you, I am a little smarter than that. But someone that I do trust to talk to about the current events going on in my life to get some perspective. 

So here's what usually goes down: *ringgggg* and *ringgggg* annnnnnd *ringggggg* over and over and over. It really doesn't matter how many people I call, that is generally the response I get. I get so frustrated and want to talk to the people who say they are 'there for me', which they are, and I love them dearly, God just has them away from their phone when I call for a reason.


The bottom line of all this is that if I stop trying to find someone to talk to about all of this, I would, and do, hear the still small voice saying 'I'm here. I want to listen. I can help you with this.' 

So what am I learning today? Relience on God. He's my rock, my foundation, and my best friend.


Singing Harmony,
Morgan

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Slowing Down

Posted by Morgan

I came across this picture today while I was looking for a new background for my computer, and when I saw it, I immediately set it as my background. As I closed iPhoto, I began to actually look at the picture that I had taken over a year ago, and the following is what came to my mind.

The focus of the picture is on the tree, and the blurry brown in front is the fence that did not focus because we were driving at top Brazilian speed, which is way faster than most Americans drive. I really like this. It made me think of how life is sometimes. How we can be going so fast trying to get a good look at everything, that we generally miss the neat stuff that is there for us to see. It's kind of where I am in life right now. I'm so sick of school. I really just don't enjoy school at all. I would have liked to have been done about a week ago.


God used this picture to remind me to slow down and be where I am. Yes, be looking at the big picture, but don't miss the details. The details and the little things in life are important. And yes I am well aware that the previous sentence is entirely a cliche, but it's true. I have got to slow down. I think I'm so busy trying to get somewhere that I could very possibly be missing what God has for me here and now. 

If we are so busy trying to get through life we won't ever really enjoy life. 


Singing Harmony,
Morgan

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Living

Posted by Morgan
I don't really know why but I've just had so many thing I want to put on paper (or in this case, page) lately. I was listening to the new Phil Whickham CD just a little while ago, and I was listening to Heaven Song, which if you haven't heard it, you should go listen to it because it is simply amazing. 

The song talks about how we can't wait to get to Heaven and sing with the angels, and sing your Heaven song, hence the name of the song. And in light of everything that is going on in my brain right now it got me thinking about all of the following: living with only Christ in mind, living without restraint of what people think, and well, living. Just plain old living. But that's just it. As Christians we don't have "just plain old living". Being a Christian, being called to a life that is set apart and different isn't plain at all. It's exhilarating. It's amazing. It's hard, but it's worth it. 

When people see me, hear me speak, see me serve, watch me when I don't know they are, do they see Jesus? Do they see someone who is shining a light into this world? Because that is the cry of my heart. It truly is. I want to be a light for Jesus. A light to this world. I want to walk around and people to see Jesus. I do not want to conform to the ways of the culture. I want to get out of the stuff that is so "culturally acceptable"...but is not something that will set me apart as a Christian.

There are several people in my life that I love and respect so much that have this amazing quality. They don't speak excessively, but only when necessary. And when they speak, people listen, because it is worth listening to. It's amazing. I want to be one of those people. Because as a Christian I want to speak love, grace, mercy, peace, and Jesus to people. But if my words do not show that I am living my life for Christ, who will listen to me when I am speaking about those things? I certainly wouldn't.

I want to live a consistent life for Christ. I want to press in and know Him more. I want to know HIS heart, HIS desires, HIS plan for me. All of these words and nice and pretty, but if I don't do anything about this, it's pointless. And again, no one will listen. Consistent Christian living...here we go. 

He MUST become more and I MUST become less.

Singing Harmony,
Morgan 
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Worship

Posted by Morgan
I don't normally do posts so close together, but due to the things that have been going through my brain in the last 48 hours, it has called for another post. So here we go!

I've been thinking a lot about what motivations, actions, and intentions drive what we do. More specifically related to the worship side of Christian living, why do I worship Christ the way that I do? Because worship is a lifestyle, I should be worshiping Him with the very life that I am living. In church this morning I began to question why I was raising my hands and closing my eyes, what was my motivation? Was it so that everyone around me knew I was worshiping? Was it for show? Or did the physical actions of my body come from an overflow of love in my heart for Christ? 

I found myself very puzzled by this and it caused me to stop and be silent in still before the Lord. I found that there truly is a time for both. A time to be silent and still before the Lord and also a time to dance and lift your hands. Now while I've always known this in my head, it was something that just seemed to click today.

So from this thought process came another: what about my actions in every day life? Why do I do what I do? Why am I in school? Why do I wear the clothes I do? Why do I order the things I do when I'm out to eat? Why do I say what I do? I began to wonder if my actions ever change according to my surroundings, and if so, is that okay? Shouldn't I be me all the time? Of course.

I think that's something I'm coming to grasp more fully: who I am in Christ. My identity is in Him. I am a daughter of the most high King, um hi, that's a pretty big deal! But guess what! You are too!!! How cool is that? God created me AND you just the way He wanted, and yes, He wants to refine us and grow us to be more like Him. But who we are, the part of us that make us US, God created and loves. Isn't that neat? I thought so. :)


Singing Harmony,
Morgan
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...untitled, unfinished, and FREE!

Posted by Morgan
I've found that no matter how hard I try, I cannot title my post until after I have finished writing it. Whenever I start off with a title I feel very boxed in. It's almost like I have no freedom to write what I want, I feel that I must stick to the subject that is in that little box up above. It's like the title of the post is the goal for that post, what it's supposed to talk about or accomplish. But when I don't put a title, I feel like I can write whatever comes to my mind, it's this freedom that really can't be fully explained. Now, yes I may have an idea of what I want to write, or God can completely change what's on my heart and something so much better than I imaged can be the outcome.


I kind of feel like that's what we do with our lives. We title them. We box ourselves in to this list of things or a theme that we want to stick to and we get caught up in that instead of actually living out our lives. It's like when we plan out how with think our lives will go, just to find out that God has a completely different plan for us. And let's be honest here, no matter how much we say we don't plan our lives, we at least have an idea of where we hope they will go. But God changes that.

I've found that in my life, if I try to plan, generally what happens is the exact opposite of what I planned. Let's give a few examples, shall we? Okay, first I was dead set on going to college right out of high school and I was completely against a gap year. What did I end up doing? A gap year. When I finally came around and got on board with the gap year I wanted to take that time and really figure out what God wanted me to do with my life, more specifically want I wanted to major in during college. Did He show me what my passions are and what I want to do with my life? Yes. Can those be translated to a college degree? Well if you find a college that let's you take How to be a Good Wife and Mother 101, please inform me. I set out to Lee planning on nailing down a major my first semester here. It's second semester now....and what does it say on my record: UNDECIDED. 

So here is what I have learned: STOP THE PLANNING. It's frustrating and it's pointless. God will show you the plan when you need to know it. Be listening for it, be waiting for it, but don't rush it. It'll get you know where. God doesn't respond to the 5 year-old technique of tugging at a parents pants until they give you their full attention and you get the answer you want. He waits patiently for you to release your life and plans to him, and then slowly but surely he will show you.

Be expectant for what God is bringing, but don't be impatient. And be content with where God has you, but not complacent and think that where you are is good enough. Stay in a place of expectancy and contentment, not one of impatience and complacency.

Singing Harmony,
Morgan

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