Expecting a Package

Hello...it's me. I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to...well nevermind. 

Hi!

It's been awhile.

Something that came to my mind this morning as I was at church was the concept of expectations. 

Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday this semester I would walk over to the student center after lunch with my friends to go check our mail. The ironic thing is, we would always exclaim "let's see if we have friends!!", as we ran over to our respective mailboxes. This came from the assumption that we didn't have friends if we didn't have any mail. Even if we received campus mail, we would still say "I have no friends".

This happened a lot, even if we ordered something online, because mail seemed to get there really slow. We'd walk up to our boxes, expectations running high, peek in, and see nothing, then slowly walk away. We would regroup and move on to our goodbyes, making dinner plans as we parted. Our expectations had again failed us.

This same thing happens when we wait for the mail man at home. We hope for something in the mailbox, just one thing that says our name on it. Or we order something online, and we wait patiently for the mail truck to come to deliver our well-anticipated package. 

What we don't realize is the striking parallel we should be making between expectations and Jesus. Isaiah 40:31 says:

"But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength;They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint."

We should be waiting on the Lord like we wait for mail. Wait on Jesus like we're waiting for a delivery truck. Because finding Jesus takes desire, it takes faith, it follows faithfulness, it takes obedience, and it produces praise (Clint Sprague's points from Life Mission Church 12/20/15). Finding Jesus results in praise, just like finding our package outside our door results in happiness. 

The expectant find Jesus. And if we have an expectation for Jesus like we have for packages, we'll truly find him. When you live with an expectation to find Jesus, you begin to focus on the more important. Because God shows up when we expect Him to.

Now go read Luke 2:22-38 and wait on the Lord.

Seeking Perfection

We all post these pictures that put on a fake persona of who we are. We are all broken people, all sinners who go through a lot of crap that we don't deserve, but at the same time kinda do. All these pictures and statuses and tweets we post are about how we have perfect lives; the perfect family; the perfect meal. 

That's not right.

I went to a photography exhibit this past weekend called "Your Story Matters" by Erika Forney. All her pictures were taken of beautiful people with a paragraph caption of what they were struggling with. These people are people we all know and talk to everyday that are going through real struggles and humbling themselves to be vulnerable before all who come. 

The NUMBER ONE issue they were going through was seeking perfection/the gratification of others. 

I'm blessed I don't have to deal with that. 

I'm glad I don't care what people think of me. 

But why is this our largest internal battle? 

Is it because of what we post and what we scroll through?

Don't try to live up to a certain level of perfection.
Stop caring what people think of you.
Find joy in the ordinary.

33 Things I Would Tell My Freshman Self

1. It doesn't matter what you wear to school. Nobody cares. Brush your hair. Put on some deodorant. You'll be fine.
2. Boys are not life. 
Music is life. 
Friends are life. 
Food is life.
3. Study for the ACT! Don't put off taking it...don't wait to sign up at school. TAKE IT NOW.
4. That stupid PSAT you heard about? Yeah, take that seriously. You could get a full ride to college with that high score.
5. Even though you think you are, you are not fat or ugly. You are beautiful. Stop saying you're fat. Oh and stop putting your hair in a ponytail!
6. Put on some makeup. Learn how to use eyeliner! Buy some nice mascara! Have fun! Do it while you still have interest in your appearance! And for goodness sakes, find some concealer for those undereye circles
7. Buy a freaking Chi
8. Eat more bacon. Eat those seconds. Eat that candy. Right now it doesn't matter. In a few years you'll see it 
9. Talk to someone new everyday. Make a bunch of friends. Make new friends. Talk to people. Get to know people. Talk to that girl by herself at the lunch table.
10. Become best friends with a guy so you can always have someone to ask honest relationship questions
11. Spend time with Jesus more. He's so worth it.
12. Invent an app where you can send pics to friends instantly. You'll make millions
13. Take lots of pictures. Take pictures at school, take pictures of places you go, and most importantly, take pictures of people. Pull out that camera and videotape more often.
14. Start working out regularly so its a habit later
15. If you want good grades, do your homework. Now.
16. Be more risky. Try new things. Pick friends over homework 25% of the time
17. Get a twitter and use it.
18. Participate in stuco. Run for treasurer
19. Just because you didnt make the basketball team last year, doesn't mean you cant make it this year
20. Tryout for the plays next year
21. Practice your violin more. Try to convince mom to hire a private lessons teacher
22. Be nice to everyone. You never know when you'll see them again 
23. Go to all the football games. Go to some basketball games. Tryout for bowling. Go to homecoming every year. Go to more dances in general. Go.
24. You will not have the same friends as you did in junior high
25. Take advanced english and history. Otherwise you will have to in college
26. Volunteer more. It's so much fun
27. Surprisingly, not everyone is going to like you
28. Never go roller skating
29. Don't date anyone you wouldn't mind marrying
30. Spend more time with Ashley.
31. Popularity is stupid. Don't be fooled into thinking it's cool
32. Go check out life church. Their youth group is pretty cool.
33. Guess what? "It goes by in the blink of an eye" is not a joke. Seriously. Savor those small moments. High school will go by so fast Appreciate it. Don't ever hate it. Savor it.