New Beginning

Hello Friends,

As you can see, I made my first post a long time ago and haven't made one since. I found out recently that I was accepted for an internship with Campus Christian Fellowship at East Carolina University, and I want to share this journey. And this not because my writing is that good, or my faith is so strong. But I want you to pray with me. I want you to see what God is doing. I want to reach outside my campus to inspire others to action--to live a life worthy of our calling.

This is not where I imagined myself being after graduating. Like most people, I wanted a "real job." But as I have grown over the past few years, I realize that ministering to God's children is the best job one could ever have. I get to pour into students, help them, learn from them, and trust God as He uses me to expand His Kingdom. This is our calling, no matter what we do from 8 to 5.

The idea of "treading the heights" comes from my favorite OT book, Habakkuk. As the prophet gives his worries to the Father, God whispers through his answer: "I've got this." It is the God-given peace that surpasses all understanding that elicits Habakkuk's final words:

"The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
   he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
   he enables me to tread on the heights."

May we be surefooted in our faith, able to tread the heights of God's marvelous plans.

And so it begins...again. Thank you for your love and prayers. Keep me posted on your lives and ministries as well.

Looking forward to The Day,

Beth

Beginning

I don't dream like I used to.

I'm not talking about the sleeping kind, but the kind that trips up even the most alert and wide-eyed minds, dreams of the future.

When we were kids everyone told us to "dream big," or to "go after your dreams." And when we're older and faced with having to figure out what to do with our lives we are told: "follow our dreams, follow them no matter what anybody else says."

I had big dreams. I dreamed of being a professor (wonder where I got that from...), a brain surgeon, a professional softball player, a best-selling novelist. And whether I fantasized about writing a world-changing Christian devotional, or holding the title of flawless first base(wo)man, I imagined everyone who mattered looking at me with admiration. If that sounds awful, shallow, and prideful...it is. But I know I'm not alone.

Now, when I think about what I want to do with my life, it's easy. I want to lay it down instead of lifting it up. I want to give it all, instead of taking what I can get. I want to glorify the One who built me up from dust and breathed eternal life into me, instead of glorifying the mirror that moth and rust will destroy. That's not to say I don't battle my pride. But God has made changes in my soul. He has opened my eyes to see things bigger than myself, to see Him more clearly.

I pray that He continues this work in me and in all of us, that together we will glorify our Maker, from now until we're praising forever.

Spirit, keep our feet stepping in the paths you've marked out for us. And take our dreams. Let us reimagine them into dreams for You.