--------Luke 6:20--------
Looking at his disciples, he said:
"Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God"

What is it to be poor? What did Jesus mean when he used the term "poor" ? Am I poor? What is my role as a lover and a folllower of Jesus in the realities of poverty? What is my role as a human to help those who may be less fortunate than me?

Could a group of girls be more beautiful? Yup, those are my friends, we are all at Pepito's, ah the memories....BFF- Big Fat Friends, 

I am Yours. 

So, I am really excited about having my first blog. I have no idea what to do or how to make it look cool, the set up just took me to this screen and told me I could start typing so......

I just wrote a lot of stuff and realized that the first noun was "I" followed by 20 personal pronouns, all of which refered back to ME. Just that alone, totally goes against the revolutionary change that has gone on in my heart and mind that I want to express here.

Needless to say, all of it had to go. This is such a learning and training process, dying to self that is. The begining belongs to the begin-er:

Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. He is first. The thing is, He is always first and He always has been first. So often, I convince myself that I am allowing Him to fit into my story, when reality is, it is His story, and it is by His grace that I am able to even be a part.

But isn't that what we do? We "invite" Him into OUR hearts for salvation, into OUR presence for worship, into the story of OUR lives, for His glory, of course.

This has left us ALL (i.e. the church, the believers, the unbelievers, the young, the old, the rich, the poor, the fortunate looking and the not so fortunate looking) dissatisfied.

I mean, let's face it, our lives aren't really that invigorating apart from the bigger picture, the God picture. I'll be honest, I'm boring. Yup, I just sleep, wake up, go to class, eat, laugh, study, talk, laugh, eat some more, oh yeah and if I'm lucky I get my 3 BMs in for the day, then back to sleep, and so on and so on. Those of you who know me, may beg to differ, and all my energies go into hoping that you would.

Man is always in search mode. We are constantly searching for "more". We are always climbing some ladder, where the top promises success, acceptance, and worth. It's like we picture this party at the top, a party where all of the people we need love and acceptance from are. All of our favorite foods are there, our favorite music mix is in and on repeat. Balloons are everywhere, it kindof looks like a birthday party meets corporate office party with people defying all rules by jumping on desk furniture and tearing up really impotant papers that they will regret tearing up later. But who cares? You're a success. You did it!! You made it to the top!
"For I'm a jolly good fellow, for I'm a jolly good fellow, for I'm a jolly good feeeeeeeeeeeellllllllllllll..."

The thing about parties is, they all have to end. You thank people for being part of your story for the hour, and they thank you for letting them go back to thiers, and we are left, once again dissatisfied, not whole.

Who can save us? (Jn 14:6, 12:47)

Last Friday, I was sitting at a coffee shop and Jesus woke me up. He saved me from myself. He showed me that His strategy was not success rather it was humility. His life was not centered on himself rather He was a servant to all. His messege was not force and guilt, it was love and forgiveness.

He showed me that He was nothing like this world. (Jn 18:36)
He said that He overcame this world anyways. (Jn 16:33)
He said I wasn't part of it any longer either. (Jn 17:14)
He said that the reason I find myself dissatisfied was because I keep looking for my identity in this world and from fallen people like myself. (Ecc. 3:9-11)
He said that He was the great I AM, and that He had it all together. (Ex. 3:14)
He said He alone had the authority to call me worthy. (Mt 28:18, Rom. 8:15-17)
And then...He did, He gladly chose to call ME worthy! (1 Jn 3:1, Jn 1:10-13)
And He said all He had access to was mine also. (Eph 2:18, Rom 5:1-2)

I fell in love with Him, right then and there. I reponded to His love by acting like a giddy little girl. I was free. There was hope in the world, and that hope was found in the man of Jesus Christ.

The begining of life starts when we come to the end of yourself. ( Mt. 10:39)

It's a daily choice too.

Not exacltly what I've been taught.

The Apostle Paul sums up our (the creation's) temporal disposition:
"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one that subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the childen of God."


More later...class calls.