Fresh Perspectives

WELL.
It's time for a new update.
A very good one, to boot.

I am back home from the land of Siloam Springs, as now a sophmore of JBU.
Now on to the important stuff.
I'm just gonna hop right into this one.

Latley, and by latley, i mean over the past month, week, semester, whatever. I don't even know what I mean.

Ahem.

Latley, I have struggled. Over the past semester, relationships have been neglected, battles have been fought on my own, and ultimately a lot of baggage was consumed.
Latley, I have begun to see. Over the past month, I have begun to address these problems, and begin with means to fix them, permanently.
Latley, I have improved. Over the past week, I have begun to get my head on straight. The Lord began something in me.
Latley, I have been great. After lots of doubt, questions, disappointment, foolishness, and self-pity, I began to wise up, and see what my problem was.
I had ignored the one source of Wisdom, that has all the answers. I had fought the battle by myself, with no help from anyone else.
So. Long story short. The Lord's mercy is unfathomable.
In the past few days, all of my broken relationships have begun on a path of restoration and renewal.
I had lived in such a heavy darkness for so long crying out for the wrong things. I wanted help and deliverance from my sorrow, not from my situation.
In the past month, the way I lived my life, I doubted a lot.

Side story. A good one:

I recently went to a funeral of a man who died.
I did not know him, but many of my family and friends did.
My father was the one who did the funeral.
Every word spoken at that funeral was of a man of faith. One who lived his life in sheer humility. Only the greatest things were spoken of that man. It made me wonder.
"What would be said at my funeral?"
No, before you click out of this window, I am not going to go on the senior high graduation "Leave a Legacy" speech, I am traversing a different route.
What I realized as I listened to the testimonies and stories of love about this man, was that nothing about his life described me.
All of the great things said about him, I found did not apply to my lifestyle. I immediately felt my heart sink, and realized how far i have gone.

And here's where the "Brutal Honesty" factor comes in:
These words are hard for me to even type, because they are treated as such "Taboo"

I doubted if I truly belonged in the family of God.
I questioned if I was honestly a child of the Lord.
The way I live my life certainly doesn't seem like it.

So after some deep thought, and prayer, I plunged into the Scriptures, scared for my life.
I realized now that this was a turning point. This was the time that I needed to wake up.
I've lived a "good" life simply because it was good. I have been lacking the desire to do things for the Lord, simply because I love Him and want to know Him more. I did things because they were "right". And that was "Integrity".
Too many words.
Anyways.
So, immediately the Lord showed me in 1 Corinthians that I belong to Him.
But the danger lies when I act like I don't.
Being out of the word for so long made me act like a sinner, when I have been called to a life of redemption and holiness.

My last post was about surrender, and I think I've found it.
Too long have the chains of worldliness bound me down, and its time to realize that there is a war going on.
It's about time to grow up, and live my life in the resurrection of Christ.
It is time for me to BE Christ in my actions.

THIS.
Is the beginning.
Of a glorious adventure.