I was created to become like Christ...

So this morning I woke up and decided I couldn't go to the gym. I'm not sure if it is because I am too mentally or physically tired, but something deep within me told me I couldn't go. (I guarantee this will cause a mental battle later but for now it's okay) I attempted to spend real time with God, because let's be honest it really hasn't happened in a while.

I think something that nudged me to do this was the KLOVE encouraging word I received this morning. I laid in my bed, checking my email and this is what it said:
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 1 Corinthians 10: 4-5

It was as if the very first thing God said to me this morning was that I am fighting my battles with God's power behind me. So I pulled out my purpose driven life book, which is the book I had most recently been working through. The chapter I came across was called Created to Become Like Christ.

Some of the best quotes I came across include:
"Only the Holy Spirit has the power to make the changes God wants to make in our lives."
"God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him." Phillippians 2:13
"We choose to do the right thing in situations and then trust God's Spirit to give us his power, love, faight, and wisdom to do it."
"The Holy Spirit releases his power the moment you take a step of faith"
"Obedience unlocks God's Power."
"Move ahead in your weaknesses, doing the right thing in spite of your fears and feelings."
"First we must choose to let go of old ways of acting"
"Let the Spirit change your way of thinking." Ephesians 4:23
"The Greek word for transformed, metamorphosis, is used today to describe the amazing change a caterpillar goes through in becoming a butterfly."
"God's word provides the truth we need to grow, God's people provide the support we need to grow and circumstances provide the environment we need to practice Christlikeness."
"You must make a counter-culture decision to focus on becoming more like Jesus."

So is it just me or does it seem like these things were written directly to me? The two that are bolded are where I am currently caught up. The Holy Spirit releases his power the moment you take a step of faith.. that means before the Holy Spirit will work in my heart I have to make a leap of faith. Taking that leap of faith takes courage!

The last one talks about making a counter culture decision. Again this is what I know I need to do, but I don't know if I want to? What is wrong with my heart? These words are all the things I need to hear, and if I was in a better spot would be enough evidence to help me get my act together.

Yet I still desperately want to cling to my old ways, my old habits. So do I want to be like Christ or not? I guess it's time for me to make a bold decision. Now the question is how am I going to do that? What will it take to change my heart?

Life Stories

Welcome to the 2nd semester of my senior year of college! It is unbelievable to me that I have been at Elon for 3 1/2 years and that I only have 108 days left! Elon has been the place where I have searched to figure out who God is, who I am, and who I am in Christ. Elon has been the place where I have felt the most heartache and many of my greatest joys.

Yesterday I embarked on a journey called "Life Stories". In reality I should say I began a class called Life Stories... but I truly believe it is going to be a journey. This class is only offered at 8 am, and I am choosing to take it simply because I think it will be great for me. The purpose of the class is for students to reflect on their past, present, and future while getting to know who they really are. What a great thing to do right before graduation?

I purchased a new journal and began the process of writing my life story. The next two weeks we are focusing on the Meyers Briggs Psychological personality assessment. Once we complete that we will focus on love languages and how we best give and receive love. As we continue learning these various things about ourselves we will also be writing our stories in three parts: past, present, and future. I believe the hardest to write will be my future. Not only do I have to write one future life prediction, but three possible outcomes. The end product will be my autobiography in approximately 100 typed pages.

My teacher clearly said that this is meant to be "therapeutic, not therapy". I'm really looking to put 110% into this because I want it to not simply be a class that I am taking, but a journey down a path towards knowing myself better.