Whatever. Whenever. Wherever.

      I realize that this blog has withered away, and I’m not exactly sure why. I guess my faith has had some major testing this year and I wasn't really in place where I felt led to share. So, my apologies for not tending to it. Lately I've been thinking about living out my faith (feels like I’m constantly wrestling with that), and how that should look in my life. Furthermore, how should we as the living Body of Christ be living? For me, conforming is my biggest stumbling block. My friends swear, so I swear. My friends make sex jokes, so I make sex jokes. My friends make racist comments, so I make racist comments. But when I come home at the end of the day and it’s just me and God, I feel horrible for disobeying Him. Essentially, what I've said when I walk out the door is, "All right God, you stay at here. I’ll see you when I get home." Here’s the thing: When I made a commitment to follow Jesus, it didn't mean just loving Him and talking to Him every night. I committed to following Jesus WHEREVER He wanted me to go, doing WHATEVER He told me to do WHENEVER he told me to do it. Jesus invited us to follow Him whatever, whenever, wherever. And if you call yourself a Christian, then you committed to that as well.

       The saying "everything in moderation" doesn’t apply to following Jesus. He wants all of you all the time. To be honest that’s a bit scary, but what’s even scarier is thinking of going through life without Him. So, when Jesus points to my group of close friends and He says, "Will you follow me there?" my answer is yes. That is, until I get to school and I'm actually in the situation. Because when I'm in that situation, I try to fix it myself. I try so hard not to gossip and swear and make inappropriate jokes. But no matter how hard I try, I never seem to be strong enough to deny myself and say yes to Jesus. Here's what I've forgotten: Jesus never says we have to be strong enough. In fact, he says just the opposite, "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me….For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12: 9,10). It's not about TRYING every day. It's about DYING (ultimate weakness) every day.

        Dying constitutes taking up your cross- arguably the most humiliating and grueling way to die. It means that when you wake up in the morning, you tell Jesus "Here is my day, take it and make it yours." It means abandoning all your personal desires for that day- dying to yourself - and letting Jesus take the wheel (also the name of a mediocre Carrie Underwood song). Paul even says in 1 Corinthians 15:31, "…I die daily." This doesn’t mean that you can’t do your homework and carry out certain responsibilities. But if God asks you not to do those things, deny yourself and obey Him. Maybe it means not flirting with the guy or girl who sits next to you in math because you know he won’t be good for you. Maybe it means that when God tells you to talk to your atheist best friend about Jesus, you do it even though it’s extremely uncomfortable. Instead of watching TV, spend time with God or build relationships with your family. In Beth Moore's case, God told her to brush a man's hair (The video is amazing!).

       Yes, following God is scary. Throwing yourself out there and being vulnerable to His will. It is the most difficult feat anyone will ever attempt, and only Jesus has ever done it perfectly. However everyone I know who follows hard after God has found deep fulfillment in it. Losing your life to gain it is something we can never fully understand here on earth. But one day, when we all stand before the Throne of God, we will. Life is a vapor- a blink of an eye. Don't waste it.

       One last thing. My brother Hugo's close friend Nathan recently went into a coma. He has a very low blood platelet count, and he’s having a blood transfusion soon. If he loses any more blood, it's likely that he'll die. Hugo says that he's a really great kid and he asked me to pray for him. In return, I'm asking you all. Please pray for his healing in the name of Jesus and that God would be with Nathan's family in this difficult time. I really appreciate it.

       May God bless you and keep you this week. Let Jesus invade your life.

-          Mya Grace