it's morphing time!

Guys. I HAVE to share this book I started reading.

Do you ever feel frustrated with yourself? Wanting to do so many things, to change in a great way, to overcome a challenge in your life, but feeling so...powerless? I feel that a lot. I want to be the best I can be, to live up to the standard Jesus set in the Bible. But instead of feeling inspired and empowered, I feel discouraged and burdened. I put my Bible on the shelf so I don't have to be reminded of all that I am not.

This is not what God planned when He sent us the Bible, which is really His love letter to us! It helps us to connect to the One who loves us the most, and gives us hope and faith in this unstable and ruthless world. Jesus came to set us free, but Satan does not want that to happen - so he twists things to make us go back to a chained life of guilt, fear, and ineffectiveness.

I came across this book in my house, called:  "The Life You've Always Wanted" by John Ortberg. The book is all about personal transformation. Jesus did not come to force us to deny ourselves, but to offer us a new way to live, as transformed creations. No longer do we have to be selfish, hateful, jealous, or depressed. He came to give us a piece of God that can live in us - the Holy Spirit - which brings peace, joy, love, patience, faithfulness, self-control, and more. This plus the promise of living in paradise forever, being saved from eternal pain and suffering! Doesn't that sound like the better path? A no-brainer, right?

Clearly, it's harder than it sounds, or else we would all be triumphant transformed individuals. 

One reason: there are powerful, evil forces spending their entire lives trying to distract, confuse, and destroy us. 

For this reason, this book is so helpful because it teaches concrete disciplines we can put in practice daily to achieve the potential God destined us for, to live fulfilling lives, and ultimately to leave this world victorious and be with Him forever.

I've only read the first 3 chapters, but have already gained a new vision and hope, and wish the same inspiration for you. :)

In his continual grace,

Meg

P.S. Are you reading any good books lately? Please share! :)

what really matters?

As I'm sitting at my desk trying to decide what to spend my time doing, I wonder: what is life truly all about? What brings joy, success, peace, and contentment? I am an 18 year old girl, in the process of discovering who I am and what I want to do with my life, what God has planned for my future. There are so many questions, so many major decisions to make that leave me anxious when I lean on my own understanding. I'm realizing that at the root of all the things I am pursuing and longing for, is love. I want to be loved, respected, admired, pursued. This is what drives me to excel in school, constantly improve my exterior and interior, and inwardly criticize my flaws. I somehow believe that imperfections result in being undeserving of love and goodness. That's why I need to look my best, be the best, achieve the most. And it's not even about being good, I compare my self to others and have such a strong competitive nature that I need to outperform others. This is not what Jesus taught, is it? I'm reading through the gospel of John and the way Jesus lived his life is truly one-of-a-kind and counter-cultural. He didn't live for the praise of others, but passionately expressed God's truths so that we may live a new life. What selflessness. He was content with living an ordinary life and never had anything to do with the worldly pursuits we chase after. It's ironic how in the process of Jesus living humbly, selflessly, and different from everyone else, he became the most famous, impacting, and blessed man to ever walk the Earth. I think the reason why this is so hard for us to fathom is that, at the time when making wise decisions, the momentary consequences seem to hold such gravity that prevent us from seeing long-run benefits. We lack perspective and humility to see that life is not all about getting what we desire, accumulating physical wealth, and being treated fairly. Jesus did not have physical wealth and was definitely not treated fairly, by any stretch. But now he is above all of us living in paradise! 

I guess the moral of these insights is that...the world does not revolve around little old me. So what if I don't attract attention from that guy? Or receive any Nobel prizes? Or have flawless skin? I want to imitate my role model who put himself last, and in turn was radiant, courageous, and the greatest romantic of all time. 

- meg.