Just Like Spandex

This has been a really huge week of growth for me. Each day, I would wake up feeling like I couldn't even handle my life.

'Ugh another day where I don't get to do what I want.'

'Man, I can't believe I'm involved in so much right now.'

'I can't do this. I don't know how. I don't want to. '

Each day, there was this moment when the heavy and seemingly impossible became easy and light, when I was able to just surrender and feel His presence settle over me. I don't think I understood that I could even stretch this much, that I could even have the capacity to run with this much endurance.

I think this can be attributed to the fact that it's not me against the world, It's Jesus and me against the world. We're in this together. I'm His Mrs. Incredible. I love the way that Jesus is ready to prove Himself to me at every moment where I feel like the world is just too much. The truth is that the world is never overwhelming to Him because He already conquered it. Therefore, I am more than a conquerer in Him.

Because He is in me, I have everything I need to face the day. Everything. He is Everything. Because He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world, I have the power to stretch and fight for what I believe in, to run the race with endurance, to receive the highest prize.

Abide. Stretch. Grow. Learn. Run. Conquer.

Watch the world be redeemed.

Do ittt.

Just spent the pretty much my whole day working on the Urban Plunge and I just have this surge of excitement that it's going to be so amazing. Seriously, do not miss out.

Can't even tell you how excited I am for this. If you are in college, you NEED to go. Like, it's not even an option. This will change your life like it did mine. If you don't know what it is, you can read last year's blog HERE.

If you're not in college, there are still ways for you to get involved:

-Donate a basketball (We're looking for 15)

-Donate a soccer ball (We need 10)

-Donate a box of granola bars (We're looking to raise for 300 kids)

Seriously, so easy. If you love me, you will do this :)

That is all.

Kind of a Big Deal

How do you know who you are?

Chances are somebody told you. Probably your parents.

It's kind of a basic question when you think about it, but I think the repercussions are kind of a big deal.

Let me put it this way, you cannot get a job, a bank account, or even enroll in school without proof of who you are. Basically, identity is a nonnegotiable asset we use to access our lives. So much so, that there are entire industries dedicated to preventing identity theft.

Though there are probably more ways to identify ourselves than ever, a deep sense of identity is sorely lacking, especially in my generation.

Like I said before, our identity comes from relationships. What if relationships have failed us? What if the only people who have told us who we are have also hurt us?

I think this is the reason many people don't know who they are; the reason many eagerly accept the labels that others put on them. Labels like failure, perfect, never good enough, invincible.

So... What does this mean? It means that we can live hopelessly, constantly being tossed around by others' view of us, or we can follow in Jesus' footsteps, receiving our sense of who we are directly from the Father and rejecting any other perception that contradicts this truth.

You see, our identity from the Father is our access to Life. In John 8, Jesus tells His followers that they are no longer slaves, but children of God, that they will have eternal life, and that He is who He says He is.

I speak from experience when I say that the more my understanding of who I am comes from my heavenly Father, the more steady I am. Instead of being constantly thrown off balance by the uncertainty of my life and surroundings, I get to hold firm to His truth. I love being able to freely accept criticism without the fear that it will somehow deplete my sense of security. I love being free to invest in relationships, even if the return is minute. I love that I can take risks, even if failure is a definite possibility. I love being able to stand strong in the chaos of a fallen world.

When you think about it, you don't have to do anything; your identity is given to you free of charge. Any misconception that who you are is synonymous with what you do is a complete and utter lie. Instead, it's our Father in heaven who tells us who we are, and from identity comes obedience to His will.

So how can Jesus get away with telling us to take up our cross and follow Him, all the while promising that his yoke is easy and light? It all comes back to the flow of obedience from identity. The fact that He knows us so completely, yet loves us so unfailingly (basic components of I.D., if you think about it) gives Him the authority to ask us to die to ourselves and take on His character.

So, not only do I relish the fact that He loves and knows me, but I can't help but want to obey Him when He tells me to submit to Him yet again. For me, this season of my life is all about character and growing into the shoes He has made for me to fill (D2, if you're familiar). I don't really think that I could ever permit Him to take me there if I didn't know who I was first; it's pretty much my saving grace on the days that He points out yet another thing we have to work on. Right now, I find that I am low on experience and know-how when it comes to really doing things well. Good thing I'm not what I do, right?

Identity. Get some.