there's more to life than this

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone ! :)

So this holiday season, I was looking for a blog to read about a Christian university student who talks about her life, faith, health, adventures and dreams. I find that many people have blogs, tumblrs, pinterest, but that majority of the content is about material things: about having the coolest hairstyle, the latest clothes, the prettiest nails, and the most vintage and perfected pictures. It takes us out of our 'average' life and into this false dream world where everything and everyone is flawless and beautiful. Sounds to me like a recipe for insecurity! We're all trying so hard to appear exciting and put together, even in the church, yet being consumed in this always brings me further from Jesus and the contentment and purpose that comes from fleeing the world's desires. 

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." - Matthew 6:19-21

I'm guilty of treasuring things of this world - stylish clothes, the latest technology, facebook, investing my time, energy and money into Meagan and making her the most happy and beautiful. Doesn't that make me my own god? Didn't I die to myself when I made Jesus Lord? 

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." - Colossians 3:1-4

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." - Romans 12:2

I've been humbled lately to see my own sin and weaknesses, the way I believe Satan's angelic deceptiveness and can glorify him instead of the one who died for me. The Spirit tells us when we're following the devil; It's when we do something hoping to find fulfillment but instead feel an emptiness and an unquenchable craving for more: whether it be indulging in food, the internet, shopping, tv, sleep, lust, relationships, schoolwork, alchohol, negativity, gossip, you name it.

Jesus came to provide us a way out of this vicious circle. He came to give us LIFE! I realized that the reason I get stuck in worldly things is because I didn't truly believe in God's promises for me. I didn't really believe He loved me unconditionally, or that He had a better plan to give me joy, peace, and a future. I believed my emotions, and did not want to surrender my life to God because I was convinced I knew the best way. Once I surrendered everything, God has opened the floodgates and showed me so many ways that He loves me, is here for me, and has an amazing plan! This has built my faith so much - it's a wonderful freeing feeling to believe that God has a vision for my life and sees beyond my weaknesses - I just have to let go and trust Him! 

Anyways, it's funny how the Spirit works. I was planning on writing about the crepes I made this morning :P 

But the point I was trying to make originally is that, since I couldn't find the blog I was looking for - I figured, why not make one myself? I don't want to be consumed in talking about myself or be on my computer 24/7, but let's see how God uses this. I will write about daily thoughts, joys, and struggles. I also love cooking and eating healthy, especially after the never-ending Christmas feasts, I want to treat God's temple right with good-for-me food and physical activity. In addition, I'm studying International Development and have a passion for humanity and this vast Earth we live in. I want to help make positive change in the darkest places, to learn more about how to tackle the real challenges the world faces. Hunger. Corruption. Prostitution. Violence. Poverty. God-lessness. So I'm sure there will be posts about that too. 

Have a wonderful Holiday Season, I hope you get to enjoy time with your Heavenly Father who is crazy about you and waiting for you to be still so he can tell you himself. :)

In His continual grace,

Meg

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.

tim tam slamas!

[The Australia Video Journal]

the dog days are over

[The Australia Video Journal]

hey guys! so much stuff has happened in the past 4 days, i'm feeling overwhelmed trying to document it all! So first off, on Thursday I got to meet all the girls from Brisbane, they are so awesome and cool. Sara, the one you saw is hi-larious, you should have seen us laughing our heads off for hours haha. Thursday night all the teens were watching HARRY POTTA and there was an extra ticket so Sara and I got to go! It was a great time (even though i was still super jetlagged and....slept through like half of the movie.....) And then Friday was when the Bliley's came who are leading the internship and we all met at Deakin University to have our first meeting. I was so nervous, feeling like I'm so inexperienced, younger, less spiritual, not knowing what to do or how to study the Bible and all that. Right after we met all the Sydney disciples - I always expected people to be cliquey or to not pay me any attention, but everyone had such great hearts and were so genuinely encouraging and warm! It was so refreshing! That's when us 6 interns split up into 3 girl/guy pairs to go sharing for the first time. At first, I was really nervous, but after the first one it was actually fun! Everyone says how hard it is to share with Australians, but God was so great, we got almost a full page of numbers. It's easy for me to be prideful and think "I'm so good at sharing my faith!" But it was totally God. After that, we all hung out and then boarded a coach bus for the campus retreat!!! There was a gorgeous beach 5 mins down the road with the most beautiful view. We had really inspiring lessons about faith and love, and I learned that it doesn't matter how small I may feel but that God wants to use those who are weak and humble. We also played fun games like tennis and bump, Sara and I belted out Florence and the Machine, and we had a dance partay the last night. I met a guy named Kapil who's from CANADA! woo! He moved to Melbourne 2 years ago and was reached out to by Aaron, a teen here and got baptized this year! We played Canada vs. Australia tennis and..lost. It's all good. Oh my gosh, there are a lot of Filipino's here, they would love Canada! It was sad saying bye to the Sydney people like Ashley, Brooke, Tia, Tash, Evan, Rob, James, etc etc etc etc. After the retreat, we went to the York's for a party and to celebrate Olivia's 21st bday! It was a lot of fun. Right now I'm pooped and trying to make sense while writing all this, and I think we're all going to drink some champagne for Olivia's sake ;) haha I won't have too much..

alright apparently i write HEAPS, so I should stop. I'm in love with these Aussies but I still love Canada! haha okay.

gday!

meg.

land down unda

[The Australia Video Journal]

This is Olivia Mains from LA, we're saaaaoooo kewwwwllll

- meg.

departures and arrivals

[The Australia Video Journal]

Hey guys! I made it safely, thank the Lord! I still can't believe I'm actually here haha. I know I'm going to learn so much and be forced to grow, the whole idea of the internship part is sinking in and I'm anxious about studying the Bible with students and sharing my faith in a new country, but we're starting officially Monday. God is definitely teaching me to trust in Him! Until then, He has really encouraged me with the people I've met  en route to Melbourne, and the amazing people here. We're a cool motley crew you could say lol. Anthony York has 3 little girls aged 2-5, they are like the daughters in "The Holiday" - so adorable! Especially with an aussie accent! This Friday is the Australia/New Zealand campus retreat, so it will be good meeting even more people and growing in my faith more. I'll definitely need it!

Love, Meg.

good life

:)


2 Timothy 2:22
"Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart."


It's really cool cause I was reading 2 Timothy last night and this was Paul's last letter he ever wrote. He was in jail, practically alone, and sentenced to death because he followed Jesus, and so these were his last words to Timothy to stay strong as he was leading a church. It's easy to be bored reading the Bible or to not fully connect, but this showed me that it's not just "the Bible" but a collection of letters filled with zeal, passion, hope, love, sadness, and much more. It's so real! Hard to find in any old book, movie, or tv show where everything seems 'too good to be true' and unrealistic. This was a normal human being who was writing to his friend that he would never get to see again. I can kind of sorta relate because I've had to say a fair share of goodbyes the last couple days as I leave for the summer and won't be seeing a lot of old friends once we all start our separate university lives. 


I hope you all have a wonderful summer and promise me that you won't just let it pass by but show your friends and family how much you love and appreciate them! You won't always have that chance.


- meg.


:)