where's your impact?

The thing about having an impact is that we don't always get to see it. But, and I think you'll agree with me on this, just because you don't get to see a thing doesn't mean you don't know that it exists. Right? Being aware that you're called to be the exception is great, but where is your impact?

Making an impact takes focus. It takes determination, ability, desire, ambition, wisdom, strength, humility, and selflessness. Making an impact is not about public recognition or about people singing your praises, it's about knowing that you've done all that you can to encourage, motivate, believe in, and praise someone else. Hold up. Yes, I just said someone else. I believe strongly that as we're called to carry the cross and to live Jesus-like lives to the best of our ability, we are certainly called to do all that we can to make others feel like they're worth the effort. I believe that covenant relationships exist. I believe that seasonal relationships exist. I believe that the Lord does equip us in different seasons to "pour into" different types of people, but we have to be careful that what we're pouring out is making a significant impact for the Kingdom. It's all about the Kingdom, and it's all about the Lord, and when that settles in your spirit, you have a desire to do and say what it takes to leave people better than you found them.

If you're spending time with someone and you don't leave feeling like you've either given or received encouragement, that relationship needs to be checked.

I do not for one second believe that kindness, generosity, and selfless love are things of the past. In a world where the most widespread notion is to do all you can to get by for yourself, you have to be the one committed to standing out. You need to be making an effort to do all that you can to better the lives of others, and it should be ingrained in you that you're not doing it for your own glory, but that you're doing it for God's glory. It should never be an option to not honor the Lord with your impact.

Be encouraged today knowing that your strength comes from a God who fills you up so that you might pour out. He gives you everything and more that you'll need to be all that you can be for the Kingdom, and furthermore, He asks simply that we bless others so that they might receive that revelation as well. Do all that you can do to make sure that you're giving generously of yourself so that others benefit and see the love of the Lord through you. That is what we're called to do. Being chosen to have a life of impact is not always easy. It's not always fun or full of joy or convenient or desired. But it is always worth it. Think of it this way: what you do for others, you're doing for the Kingdom. That can go both ways, but make an effort for your words and actions to edify the Kingdom. When you're building someone else up, you're building up the Kingdom.

Impact and honor are synonymous. You be committed to making a sacrificial impact, and the Lord will get the honor. He delights in those that continually seek Him. Seek Him with your whole heart and His delight in you will inspire you to make an impact.

Impact is not seasonal, it's forever life-changing.

roommate for life.

This is just a forewarning that this blog entry might be boring to most of you. That's ok. Only read further if you want to know all about an incredibly blessed friendship.

When i was a junior in college, I had the privelege of going on my first C. Summit mission trip. We went to Winston, and I was fairly new to the church and didn't know many people. I DEFINITELY didn't know Sarah Torsell. A leader paired Sarah and I up to be prayer partners for the weekend and the rest is really history. Three years later, I had to watch one of my best friends in the world leave Boone and send her off knowing that her journey to an incredible life was just beginning. In a city apart from me. That was a hard weekend, but I do know that what the Lord has in store for this girl is so amazing and I also know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if you keep pressing in, sweet Sarah, you're going to see in this lifetime things you never thought you'd see. Be encouraged knowing that you are going places. Duke is LUCKY to have you. I am so proud of you and everything that you've walked through and let me be a part of for the last three years and, challenges included, wouldn't trade any of it for the world. You'll always be my 'falling over the couch' friend and I will always be thankful for you!

Where it all began: LoveWinston. We both learned to love that city that weekend and also learned to love each other.
Lots of fun nights with many adventurous endings, and so many more to come.

If you've ever spent 5 minutes or 5 days in Apt. 306, you're familiar with Lincoln. Lincoln is the giraffe statue that is as much of a part of Sarah and I's lives as any close friend or family member. Sarah, Lincoln misses you!

SB, thanks for changing my life. You've had an impact different than any other person and I am grateful that you chose to stick with me throught the rough times so that we could mutually enjoy the 'better times'. You better be doing great things in Raleigh because you're capable of nothing less! I can't wait to continue to celebrate you for the big things that will happen in the next few years.

If you need a reminder: Keep breathing. Keep believing. Keep loving. And always know that we might be seperated by some miles now, but I am and always will be 'just across the hall'. Love you roommate for life.

there's a grace for that.

Grace

(Noun)

Theology --

a. The freely given and unmerited favor and love of God.

b. The influence or spirit of God operating in humans to regenerate or strengthen them.

c. A virtue or excellence of divine origin.

d. Also called state of grace. The condition of being in God's favor.

What would it be like if morning by morning we woke up committed to bestowing grace on every single person we came into contact with that day? What if we woke up committed to letting the past be the past and challenging ourselves to love and forgive as the Lord loves and forgives? What would it be like if we lived as we are called to live and really truly were enabled to be Christ to the nations? Are we not capable or are we not willing?

Are we willing to forget that offensive comment that was said in half-jest to us last night and are we equipping ourselves to love that person anyway as if nothing was ever said? Are we willing to forget that yesterday we had a bad thought about ourselves and today will be a day where we give God honor by loving how He created us? Are we capable of loving our mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers and friends who have praised and condemned us out of the same mouth? Are we willing to look beyond the discrepancies, insecurities and ungodly beliefs that say we are something that we actually are not?

God says yes. He says we are both capable and He has also made us willing. And here's why: We were created in the image of Christ, who day in and day out did those very same things. He loved unconditionally. He healed willingly. He walked by faith and not by sight. He provided the impossible. He withheld nothing. He was honest. He embodied the fruit of the spirit. He trusted God to do things bigger than he could have ever imagined. And then came the day that it was over for him. On that day he put forth a challenge and said that those that followed Him were capable and called to do all that he did and more for the betterment of the Kingdom.

When I look at someone else, I should want better for them than I want for myself. I should love them unconditionally. I think as Christians we say "unconditional" and don't really mean "unconditional", but that does in fact mean that there's nothing you can throw my way that will discourage my effort to be in covenant with you. That is unconditional. That is Biblical. That is Jesus.

But I'm hurt! There's a grace for that. But I'm tired. There's a grace for that. But I've never been good at reaching out. There's a grace for that. But I've been through a lot. There's a grace for that. But I don't have a powerful voice. There's a grace for that.

We have to make the choice to be proactive about walking in grace. Or else there will be an excuse for every decision that we have to make. It's easy to make excuses, but we're empowered to walk in grace. We have to make the choice to stop doing what's easy and start doing what we've been called to do.

It's not about you. It's not about me. It's about reaching the seemingly unreachable. And we're only going to be able to do it by grace.

faithfulness & honor & love.

I was reading in Jeremiah yesterday, and I have read over this set of verses so many times and it hasn't really caught my attention like it did this time. The verses read like this:

"Today, I appoint you to STAND UP against nations and kingdoms. Some you must uproot and tear down and others you must build up and plant. Then the Lord said to me "Look Jeremiah! What do you see?" And I said "I see a branch from an almond tree." And the Lord said "That's right, and it means that I am watching and I will CERTAINLY carry out all my plans." 1:10-12 [NLT]

That last part of the final verse in the New King James reads "You have seen well, for I am ready to perform my Word."

In the NIV it reads "You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my Word is fulfilled.

What an amazing promise. To know that the God who created all of the heavens and the earth and makes life possible is carrying out His will for our lives. To know that in His will are plans to give us confident hope to see the best of ourselves in a future that we certainly don't deserve. To know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that our God will fulfill every promise, and here's the catch: there is no catch. We don't have to be perfect or always know what to say or always do the right things, and get this, we don't even need to put our two cents in to God [even though we sometimes feel entitled]...He'll do it again, and again, and again, and again, just like before. Because: He. Is. Faithful.

The God that I serve and that you serve has given us purpose. He's placed you where you are in this time with purpose and on purpose because [let me repeat myself], He is faithful! Whether you're seemingly stuck in a place that you never thought you'd be in or you're prospering in a place that you definitely don't deserve to be in, the Lord has put you there with regard. He took the time to place you in this season because he's building you to be the most effective person for the Kingdom that you can be, you absolutely have time to honor Him for that. I have time to honor Him. To praise him for his faithfulness, because above all else, in and out of every season and circumstance, I should always be able to lift my hands as a testament to the fact that God is good.

A mighty voice doesn't have to resound from Heaven for you to know that He loves you. I once heard this: "He loves you because He loves you because He loves you because He loves you because He loves you because He loves you because He loves you because He's God and that's just what He does." God didn't have a reason to send His only son to live a ridiculed life and to die an inhumane death just for us, other than because He loves us.

I count it a joy to serve. I count it a joy to be in seasons of maturity, and seasons of refinement, and seasons of happiness, and seasons of growth. I count it an honor to be a follower of Christ. I count it an undeserved privelege to be so loved and adored by the One who created it all. I'll be the first to stand up and publicly proclaim that I don't have it all together, I sometimes say and do things that I wish I hadn't, but I am loved. You are loved. Unconditionally.

Quick life update: Living year 23 to the best of my ability. Blessed with the best job in the world. Surrounded by the most amazing family & friends. Plugged into an incredible church and under the headship of the most caring Pastors and leadership in this region. So blessed. So undeserving. So grateful.