New Year, End of an Era

Tonight Tim Tebow played his last game in a Gator uniform. His performance was unparallel, and can arguably go down as the best player to ever play college football. But these are not the things that I so admire and one day hope for in a husband. I am a journaler, and time and again I have written how I want to be seen and remembered. If I live my life the way that I believe is right and glorifying to God, then my priorities should be obvious in this order. Number 1, that I love Jesus Christ and want to fulfill His greater purpose for my life. Number 2, I love my family and friends; it is an everyday struggle for me to show grace and love to the people closest to me that mean the most in my life. Number 3, my education or future job, I want to honor the Lord and always give my best effort in whatever I do, and stick to my morals even in situations that I am not happy with. One thing that people in our society put too much value on in my opinion is money. Tebow has said that he wants to do work locally, nationally and internationally for little pay. 1 Timothy 6:10 says "Money is the root of all evil." For me this is one of those things that God tells us and I secretley hope that there is some loophole, but as I observe the world surrounding me, it only proves more true. When I re-examine the Word, there is no way that the Lord could be more specific. So while I would like to not have to worry about paying the bills or cutting coupons, I realize that I need to go wherever the Lord leads me and I will be just fine doing His will. The more I think about it, money is a leading reason for divorce, lying and cheating; and I don't want these realities in my life more than they already are. If I am able to serve the Lord and help other people, then I can go to sleep at night. It fills me with unfathamable joy to think of the prospect of somebody saying that I made a difference in their life. There are so many scriptures about love and what I want to do with my life is love people. I want to be able to appreciate the goodness that Jesus created and maybe make some of my own. One of my favorite songs that has become a prayer for me is "The Motions" by Matthew West. If you are reading this I encourage you to listen and just allow the truth of the words to speak to your heart. I truly believe that whether or not you are a believer in Christ, everybody wants their life to be a part of something greater; something that separates you and gives a reason for living. I am not completely sure what is in store for me tomorrow, in a week, next month, next year or even 10 years from now, but I have hopes and desires and I have faith that I will do something great with my life. Ephesians 6:8-10 says "For it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith- and this no from yourselves, it is a gift from God- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." To me, there are a few key phrases in this verse that carry enormous impact with them. First, faith and grace- these are things that anybody can obtain and everyone is given. There are no favorites with the Lord, and nothing you or I do will change the way he feels about us. It also teaches us that we need to stop thinking that we are better than somebod else. Everybody is equal in His kingdom, and for me this is a tough concept because I get so perterbd when people don't practice what they preach. But I realize that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"(Romans 3:23). Also, back to the original verse, I was created to do good works. That validates my desires to help people and do good things, it reassures me that I am supposed to help other people and such. But the most inspirational part to me is the end, "which God prepared in advance for us to do." The Lord knows me personally, and created a specific design for my life as an individual as a part of his whole plan. I can not help but feel value and precious and important when I read this. It's like being on the greatest VIP list ever created. So while Tim Tebow was the initial reason for me blogging tonight, I hope that you maybe have some food for thought. I hope that maybe one day I will have the opportunity to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and be real with people everywhere. This year I am going to attempt to write a book, but more of that in a later post. Let me try to reconnect this back to what I started writing about.... nahhhh, if you read I hope you followed my brain train.