Whatever it Takes. Part 3

   It's been a few weeks since I've posted a blog, so I figured it was about time I did.  The past few weeks have been challenging, but many lessons learned as always.

   I'd have to say, my favorite pastime is probably reading.  Lame, nerdy? Yes, but I'm okay with that :]  Two of my favorite authors are Eric and Leslie Ludy.  I find their passion for serving Christ whole-heartedly, on-fire, without compromise completely inspiring.  The current book that I'm reading is Set Apart Femeninity by Leslie Ludy.  Its all about being set apart for our Prince and King, Jesus Christ.  As I've been reading this book, two questions have been going through my mind as I go through my daily life.

"Is what I'm doing honoring Christ and drawing me closer to Him"

 and

"Is what I'm doing drawing others to Him?"

   I've only been on this earth 19 years so far, but during those 19 years, I've learned more and more each day that this life really is all about Jesus.  I've learned I can't do it on my own because I wasn't created to "do life" alone.  Anything that I do in my own intrests, in my own power turns out to be empty, worthless, lacking true satisfaction.

  I want to become less and less of me.  I want to learn to become completely selfless.  My heart's cry it to truly love Jesus with ALL my heart, ALL my soul, ALL my mind and ALL my strength.  I don't want my life to look like a moral twist on the average American life, rather I want it to look like daily surrender to true Life.  I'm so excited.

  I want my life to be completely unexplainable by me.  My desire is to really live a life that can be explained only through the power of the Holy Spirit within me.

 "The Christian life can be explained only in terms of Jesus Christ, and if your life as Christian can still be explained in terms of you---your personality, your willpower, your gift, your talent, your money, your courage, your scholarship, your dedication, your sacrifice, or your anything--then although you man have the Christian life, you are not yet living it." - Ian Thomas

  It is my firm belief that true satisfaction, real joy, is found only through losing complete sight of me.  When I focus on my pain, my problems, my life,  I find myself feeling hopleless, helpless, and worthless.  Any joy or beauty that I possess is found by losing sight of myself completely.  It comes from being so consumed by my Prince and King that my life can somehow reflect His, because He is truly the only source of joy and beauty. 

"It is a tremendous freedom to get rid of all self-consideration and learn to care about only one thing---the relationship between Christ and ourselves." -Oswald Chambers

  My prayer lately has been that God remove anything in my life that is hindering me from a deeper, closer relationship with Him so that I can full force run the race,  life the life, and fulfill the purposes that He designed and created me to.  Not wasting any of the precious life that He has given to me, rather pouring it out as an offering of service, gratitude and love for my King.

Hebrews 12:1-3 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

   I challenge you to die.  I challenge you to find out what being truly alive feels like, to experience the complete joy found in the set apart life and live for the purpose you were created for.  You only have one life to live on this earth. Thank you so much for taking the time to read. :)