I say it all to say this: Glory to God

Posted by Morgan
Life is such an interesting thing. Every stage of life that I find myself in brings new challenges, and if I'm being honest, I don't really like a lot of the challenges it brings. The art of surrendering is hard, and yes, it is an art. It takes time and patience and persistence. 


I've mentioned before that I am working in an orthodontist office this summer as a lab assistant, and for the most part I have really enjoyed it. I have learned a lot of new skills and I really do enjoy the actual work part of it. Being one of only 3 or 4 Christians is a whole other story entirely.  The last week I have been absolutely bombarded with attacks spiritually and indirectly from some of the women I work with. You would have to know the ladies in the office and fully understand the dynamic of the workplace, but trust me, I am not exaggerating any of this. 


Over the last 2 months I have had a variety of different conversations in that office. But in the last week, a few of the ladies have shown their disapproval/disagreement with some of my life choices: my relationship with the Lord, my choices on dating, the boundaries I put into my friendships with guys, and, believe it or not, my decision to wait till marriage to have sex. Now, have they come right out and said I was wrong about each of these things? Not every single one, but some, yes.  I know a few of these ladies well enough by now to know how they are and what they do when they disapprove or disagree with something. Some get VERY quiet, some quickly change the subject, and some flat out tell you that is not what they would do or would ever recommend anyone do.


A few days ago I had a really interesting experience and God has definitely shown me a lot through that. I won't go into the details of the conversation or the context, because honestly, when you are working with 13 women, the conversation takes an extremely awkward and inappropriate turn and let's just say that this was definitely one of those times. 


What I learned and what God showed me after the fact, is that who I am is speaking for itself. There are some things I believe in and things I stand for that I haven't come out and just said, not because I'm ashamed or anything, the opportunity for some conversations just hasn't presented itself just yet. But even without me saying those things out loud, the ladies I work with knew that I stood for those things. It really was a testament to the work that God is doing in me. It is an answer to my prayers to see that what I believe is showing through my actions.


 I say all of this to give the glory to God. I say all of this to say that God does answer your prayers. I say all of this to challenge you to seek the Lord and ask Him to shine through you and your actions if He isn't already.


Singing Harmony,
Morgan
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Surrender

Posted by Morgan
So I gave my blog a makeover. It's kind of what I want to do with my life right now. Being home this summer has been so good, but it has not been without it's challenges. I find that there always seems to be a theme for the stage of life I'm in, and right now, it is most definitely surrender. Yeah, fun right?


Every thing book I read, every song I listen to, every conversation I have seems to continually point me in one single direction: full and complete surrender. I am being called to release to the Lord all of MY plans, MY hopes, and MY dreams. I am being called to trust the Lord in a more full and complete way with my future. There are some things that I have always held on to, and I've held on to them very tightly. There are several things like that, mainly they have to do with my future. What I will do, who I will be with, where I will be, who I will be around. All things like that.


Letting go is NOT easy. And to be honest, I don't like it at all. I am really bad about thinking about some things and over-analyzing them. The hardest part of surrender for me, at the moment any way, is keeping my thoughts and my mind focused on the Lord and not on the situation, or the thing I am trying to surrender. 


When I say everything has been pointing to surrender, I'm not kidding. I was listening to my sister's iPod in the car last night and the first song that came on was "Holding Nothing Back" by Melissa How, the second song was "I Surrender" by Kim Walker and I was like, are you kidding me? God really does know how to get my attention. 


About two weeks ago I read a series by Terri Blackstock. They were Christian fiction novels - I LOVED them. There were four in the series, and they were about a family living the typical American dream. Then suddenly all the power goes out, and not just electricity, cars didn't work, cell phones didn't work, basically nothing electronic worked. The books were about their journey of trusting the Lord and surrendering to Him even when the circumstances around them told them to rely on their own strength. The family went through loss and gain, joy and heartache. It really got me thinking about giving God glory and praise when everything around you is going wrong. When it feels like life just isn't fair and that the Lord should be doing something about what is going on. I know I forget that He really is in full control all the time. Anyway, the books really taught me a lot about surrendering to the Lord, even when every your fallen human desires say not to. 


Well, this hasn't been the most up-beat post. But it's honest. And that really is all I want to be. Honest with what God is doing in my heart and life. I'm not going to sugar-coat things, I hate sugar-coated things. Anyway, this is where I am. Walking with the Lord, walking through the hard stuff, and seeking him on a greater and deeper level.


Singing Harmony,
Morgan
Category: 3 comments

Travel Bug

Posted by Morgan
I am currently fighting the urge to just pack up and move out west. It's always been a dream of mine(for years and years and years) to live out west. I don't know where the desire and love for the west came from, but it's always been there.



One of my friends recently went to Yellowstone National Park, and I stole these pictures from her facebook....but she won't mind.


Gorgeous landscaping....




See the rainbow?






BEAUTIFUL!!



Um, yeah that's not gorgeous or anything....



Snow covered mountain tops = LOVE



Would that not be AMAZING to see??
I mean, hello! Do you see why I want to go there?? Yes, I know this is a national park...but it's so pretty!!



It's kinda safe to save I have the travel bug right now. This post got WAY too long, so I deiced to make it a page all it's own :) Check it out at the top or click here :)

I wanna go see God's beautiful creation. 


Singing Harmony,
Morgan

Category: 1 comments