Life Less Ordinary for the week of September 29, 2008

"Dreams and Aspirations"

By Shane Cooley

Never say never, it is a cursed word
I know there must be a haven for us all
Yes, there is still beauty in this world,
That keeps us goin', keeps us livin',
Makes us human, makes us somethin', yeah.

Don't give up now,
Yes, you have the power,
As clichéd as it sounds, it's true
Take a look around,
You will see there’s so many people
that feel just like you.

If you asked me what is the point?
What makes us go on?
I'd reply with two answers,
Dreams and Aspirations

We dream of love,
We dream of fulfillment,
And we aspire to make the world better, yeah.

And you may say I'm out of my mind,
That the world is all but bright,
Well I know the glass isn't always half full,
But enjoy the drink while you can...

Don't give up now, Don't give up now.

~~~

I love this song because of its encouraging lyrics. We all have pain in our lives—rejection, abuse, death, depression…the list could go on. But the good news is that we have a God that loves us and cares for us and understands our pain. He wants to help us. He wants to heal us. Don’t give up now. Run to him. He is waiting.

~~~

“The LORD heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” ~Psalm 147:3

~~~

Life Less Ordinary for the week of September 21, 2008

“The Word of God well understood and religiously obeyed is the shortest route to spiritual perfection. And we must not select a few favorite passages to the exclusion of others. Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian.” --AW. Tozer

Oh my. It’s taken a little longer than I expected to write the new devotional for you girls! But the Leadership Council was very busy with all the activities during Spirit Week, and we are so glad that many of you participated! Way to represent!

This week I would like to bring you a list of the bible studies that are being offered in Gillette this semester. Some of your floors may have already met for one bible study already, but you are welcome to join any of the ones listed here if there is something else that sparks your interest:

[Check with your RA about this semester's Bible studies!]

I encourage you to participate in one of these Bible/book studies, or get involved in one elsewhere on or off campus. I know we’re busy and have lots of other work to do, but the importance of knowing the word of God cannot be stressed enough. This is God’s letter to us—a letter of love, of power, of comfort, of healing, of truth. Imagine if you had a pen pal across the ocean whose letters you never opened. How well would you get to know them? Not very.

God’s word is also our spiritual food. We feed our bodies three times a day, often with snacks in between...but we don’t always feed our souls with the same obedience. It gives our hearts something to think about, to strive for, to live off of. “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12). God’s word is less ordinary than anything out there.

Let’s live by it!

~~~

Life Less Ordinary for the week of September 7, 2008

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.” ~Corrie Ten Boom

Well everyone, we made it through the first week of school! Hopefully it wasn’t too stressful. If it was, don’t worry—keep your head up, it won’t last forever!

Speaking of worry, I’d like to talk a little bit about that. There’s lots of things that we as students can get worried about. Grades. Papers. Tests. Making friends. Living with roommates. Boyfriends. Practices. Performances. Finances. Work. Time management. Families back home. Extracurricular clubs. Planning our futures. Even our own spiritual walk.

Exhausting, isn’t it? We wonder why we’re always so tired at the end of the day, even if we haven’t done very much. I think a lot of it has to do with the things we constantly concern ourselves with. Our brains scream for rest and our hearts sigh with heavy burdens…and over time, our souls become parched in a dry and weary land.

Girls, we don’t have to do this to ourselves! I know you’ve probably heard this a thousand times over: Jesus can carry our burdens. But it bears repeating for good reason—because it’s true. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28) Rest. Doesn’t that sound wonderful? Unfortunately, we rarely can bring ourselves to give our worries to God. Sometimes it’s because we don’t want to feel like we’re losing control, or we’re stubborn, or maybe we just don’t know how.

But you know what? It’s okay. We’re human; we can’t be perfect. And God understands that; that’s why he gave us a way to be forgiven and reconciled to him. He loves us, and he wants the best for us. Go to him, weary and burdened ones. Ask forgiveness for trying to do it all on your own. Tell him about each of the things that worries you, and tell him that they are all now in his hands.

Again, since we’re human, we will have the tendency to want to take those worries back out of his hands. When this happens, try saying this verse in your head or out loud: “Cast all your anxiety on the Lord, because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7), and then give those troubles back to Him. That is my challenge to you this week. Don’t just memorize it for the sake of memorizing it, but instead use the power of Scripture to really do something for your life. “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (James 1:22). So run to Jesus. Give him your burdens, and rest. The God of love and peace will be with you.


And a life without worry and troublesome burdens? Now that’s a life less ordinary.
~~~