Take The First Step

In my dorm, we have two staircases, and their designs are very interesting. When you start going up the steps, you can't see the top. They take a 90-degree turn right at the middle and the wall blocks your view from seeing the top. Yet we go up the stairs in confidence that the stairs will end and they will take us right where we need to be. You just start by taking on step at a time and then you reach the top.

The same thing happens with our faith. We are going up some stairs but we can't see the top. I say stairs because stairs can be hard to climb after a while and they can be intimidating, but if you keep working on it, you will reach the top. The stairs of our faith were designed by God, and they do lead where we need to go which is where God plans us to be. We just can't see the top of the stairs and see where we end up. All we have to do is take that first step and we are closer at reaching where we are going. Going one step at a time makes the journey less scary than if we were to look at it all at once. So today, I encourage you to take that first step and see where this staircase leads.

Dear Heavenly Father
Thank you for walking with us every step that we take. Help me to trust you in each step I take and not worry about where I end up, because I know the designer of the staircase built it to lead me where I need to go. Amen. 

A Real Connection

So one of the conversations that I have had a lot recently is what kind of relationship you can with the use of technology. With many of us being so far from friends and family, we use technology to connect with people. We had discussions on what technology was best for each situation of communication. I broke down the main forms of communications that we use and the conversations we have when using them.

Text- Text is best for short conversations and not very deep conversations. For example, talking about someone's dog or planning a time to set up a video call. It has been mine experience that having deep and meaningful conversations over text aren't the same as when I had those conversation with them in person or even over video call and I feel empty afterwards like something is missing. You don't get the same body clues and voice influxes over text. Actually, it is very easy to misinterpret what a person means over text, and you can add things that may not have been the original intent of the sender. Texting is also short and choppy and it is easy to get distracted from the conversation by other things going on. I have also realized that the people who I have the best conversations with are the worst texters. But to be honest I would rather have bad texts and good conversations than good texters and awkward conversation in real life.

Email/Letters- Emails and letters still limits the verbal and non-verbal cues, but one thing about them is that they typically are longer than texts, allowing you to explain more of what is happening to make up for the lack of verbal and non-verbal cues. You can explain things better, but emails and letters take longer to communicate. Letters just take longer because of the distant they have to travel, but it is nice to have something physical to hold on while you wait for the next letter. Emails are faster, but they are not as easily accessible, at least for me, as text, so it might take some time for a response.

Phone Calls- Phone calls gives you the verbal cues, and it allows you to have an actual conversation. Phone calls are also easy to make if you have a signal. However, I find that many people are not comfortable talking on the phone so that might make the conversations more awkward, but it just take some getting use to.

Video Calls- Video calls are probably the best way to have those deep and meaningful conversations. You can see the person and hear their voice. I know that my family is important to me so we try to video call every once and a while. They are inconvenient at sometimes, especially if you don't have WIFI, but they are worth it when you can see the other person's face.

Now depending on what you want to talk about and who you are talking to, you can decide which form of technology you would like to use. There is not one right form of technology to use, but it up to you and the person you are talking with to decide with form you like best, and it is hard to determine what the best way is. Just know that no matter what way you are using to communicate, watch what you say, because once you say something, you can not take it back.

Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for the friends you have placed in my life. Help me to effectively communicate with them to strengthen our relationship not only with each other but with you. Amen.

Playing For God

I don't know why it took me this long to write this post or to make this connection, but this has made an impact in my life.


So one of the movies that came out this summer is a movie called Nerve that I fell in love with. The simplified plot of the movie is basically deciding if the main character is going to play this crazy game of Nerve, which is a bunch of crazy dares, or if they are going to sit on the sidelines and just watch the game. Eventually the main character, Vee, decides to play the game instead of just watch, and even though there were some real sketchy times, Vee did grow during the course of doing these dares.


Now that was just a movie, but I think we can learn from this in how we treat our relationship with God. God is calling us to trust him with our lives and to follow him in everything he calls us to do. And when God calls us to do something, it does feel like he is calling us to do some crazy dare, that at the time we don't think is possible. Take for example Peter walking on the water. God called him out to walk on the raging water, and he did. But when he got to thinking about what he was doing he loss faith and started to drown. One thing I took from Nerve is that once you start a dare, you just have to go for it, because the minute you start using your head, that is the minute everything goes all wrong. When God calls us to step out on what feels like our own raging seas we have to trust God all the way.


Another good point this movie made was questioning if you are going to be a watcher and a player. God is asking us the same question. Are we going to follow where God calls us, how ever crazy that might be, or are we just going to sit on the sidelines and watch other people do God's work. God wants to do amazing things in our life, but we have to step out in faith and trust him in where he is calling us. He doesn't want some one who is going to chose to be a watcher, but he wants someone who is going to play and trust him with their life completely. It will get crazy some times, and there will be times where you might have doubts, but if it is a part of God's will for you, then he has you and will provide for all your needs.


So my question is, Are you a Watcher or a Player?


Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for all you have planned for my life. Lord, I want to be a player, and to trust you completely. I want my entire being to serve you and to follow where you go no matter how crazy it might be. Amen.