strong and courageous

  Here we are on the eve of my 21st birthday and after spending tonight with both of my amazing parents, I've realized what an impact upbringing has. We talked about society today and how (due to daily advances of social media, and a lot of other things) people are becoming less and less mannered. People don't have conversations anymore, they text, not call, they facebook instead of meeting up with friends, or talking on the phone, we're just a more distant society, as a whole. You can't go out to eat with friends without everyone checking their phones every other second. Although I play guilty to some of these things at times, I am by no means forgetting the 'big picture.'


My point being, in the LONG distant future, I plan on raising my kids with an appreciation for normality. I've prayed for my future family for a long time now. Not in a creepy, i-have-no-life kind of way, but every now and then, I remember what I desire most of all for my future, and I say a little prayer for my future house. My husband, my children, their friends, their teachers, their 'role models', bosses, etc. I've been the most spoiled, regular kid the world's ever seen. Without the other 4 Scotts, and my extended family, I don't know where I'd be. How you are raised is so crucial  I think I turned out alright. I just pray I do HALF the job my parents have done.


I'm not sure how it relates, but just follow me here:
It all reminds me of Joshua after his mentor Moses died, and he was going to have to 'face it' alone. Moses had been his teacher for the past 40-ish years and all of a sudden, it was Joshua's turn. The then-cranky Israelites were ready to finally enter the promise land, and it would be Joshua's task to see them through. Responsibility was thrown to him, and I think anybody would have been a little intimidated by the task. However, HOWEVER, because Joshua had stuck so close to Moses' side all those years, he was well-prepared and knew exactly how to lead those people, how to comfort them during their loss of Moses, how to be who God had always intended him to be. Although, I'm sure there were challenges.


That's how I feel about my walk with God when it comes to my future. If I stick by His side, the whole way through like Joshua did to Moses, I'll be completely prepared for the task of raising great, passionate children. I'll be able to comfort them and cheer them on, and be exactly who God intended me to be. I have no doubt that if I ask these things of God, he'll give them to me. I need only stay by His side, the whole way through.
These were the 'instructions' God gave Joshua that day:

"Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."- Joshua 1:6-9

I wonder how exhilirated Joshua must have felt, and how scared. Which is exactly how I feel tonight. VERY VERY exhilirated, and ecstatic to see what God has for me, but scared I won't trust it.
Joy comes in the morning, and so does my birthday!
Redeemed, JAS.

It's the thought that counts...

"The thoughts we entertain in our minds become the thoughts that guide our lives, for better or worse." - Chip Ingram

Chip Ingram is the author of a book i'm reading called "From Good to Great (In God's Eyes)." Going from good, or average, to great is this desperate idea I have had in my life from an early age. I wanted to be the best at gymnastics, at climbing the rope in P.E., the fastest, the prettiest, the funniest, THE BEST in any way I could be. But Jordan, you say, isn't it the point of Christianity to humble yourself, to become less so God can become greater? So, it brings a serious question to mind:

Does ambition indicate a spiritual problem? Is wanting to be great truly wrong?

I believe the answer lies in the Truth. Sure, humility is CLEAR throughout the Word, through and through. However, God called David a man after His own heart, and David was a King! I go to Zephaniah 3:17 each time I think on my self-worth, in God's eyes.

"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."

It's amazing to think that the Creator of the universe meets us each day as we wake like a dad on the sidelines for his children. Cheering us on each step of the way. "Delighting" in us, as the Bible says.

So, yes, I believe God wants our desires for greatness to align with His plan for our lives. There's nothing telling me God doesn't want all my wildest ambitions to come true, but I have to surrender to Him first.

As the saying goes,
"Give Him NOTHING short of your best, and He'll take care of the rest!"

Amen to serving a God that cheers me on each day. That's the thought that counts.

Redeemed, JAS.

Prone to depravity

                        

I have a new nose! After 3 difficult breaks and added bumps and bruises, I had my surgery and am well into my recovery. Also, my 21st birthday is coming up next week! I can't wait. But enough about all that. Here's a few thoughts that I've had rummaging around in my brain.

The phrase "prone to depravity" came to me whenever I was listening to a song by David Crowder Band called Wholly Yours. (check it out if you haven't, btw.) BUT! Knowing depravity is our course-heading, why aren't we chomping at the bit to run in the other direction? What keeps us "prone" to that kind of outcome? Depravity by definition means moral corruption, or extreme perversion. Does that really sound like fun? Apparently what is moral is not the growing trend in today's generation.

Since Facebook and Twitter are taking over, I creep on everybody's profiles, just like everyone else does! Ha, that's beside the point, but what I find myself reading over and over again are variations of the same statuses. All the "why me's," the "psh, whatevers," and the "oh no he didn't!"; people are acting like hamsters on a wheel in their search for true happiness in everyday life. They try something and come back to the same, if not worse, results. Girls get these boyfriends, put up some sob story 6 months later, and they're on to the next one! And wouldn't you know, 4 months later, it's another, "it's ok, i'll find someone better!" Prone to depravity, ignoring God's best for our lives. It's what's gotten into all of us, and it's going ignored.

The cry of my heart for this year is that people would re-evaluate what's most important in their lives, prioritize! Something, anything to get their prone-to-depravity-ness-levels down, and God's best as their main priority. As for the church itself, we have our work cut out for us. Jersey Shore is what's getting peoples' attention, not morals and salvation. I pray the church would gain creativity to keep up with today, and keep winning souls. That's what it's all about! We are supposed to win souls! (Proverbs!)

It'll have to start with me.

Redeemed, JAS.