Sovereignty

"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth. It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." - Isaiah 55:9-11

I need to be reminded as a planner that I don't have the ultimate authority in my life, even when I feel like I'm in control and make good decisions. It's hard for me to submit to anyone else's ideas or plans because I think that mine are best. I'm a detail-oriented person and think of everything ahead of time. I can multi-task and pursue several initiatives without tiring. In reality, I am able to do these things because of the grace of God. I have the capacity to do my job well and serve people in my life. I connect with God through my spiritual gifts of leadership & service, plus relating with God through activism. On the flip side, because of my fruitfulness, it's easy for me to elevate myself to be like God instead of giving Him the credit.

God's sovereignty says that He is the ultimate authority. He is above all others. He has dominion over everything. His commands are always fruitful and accomplish His original purposes. I always struggle with the idea of God's supreme power and His will, especially with the presence of evil and the brokenness of the world. I don't believe that it's God's will for evil to happen.

In that however, I tend to believe that God has to skirt around evil and redeem things from broken places, which means that I don't believe that He has supreme power. I give into the world's fears and doubts of God's ability to redeem and overcome all evil without question. In not always believing that God has supreme power over everything, it's hard for me to understand and believe that God ordains, or establishes, His will and all goodness through predestination. Ephesians 1:11 says, "In him we were also chosen having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will." 

John Piper explains this idea of predestination - "Always keep in mind that everything God does toward men...everything is his means of creating situations which function as motives to elicit the acts of will which he has ordained to come to pass. In this way He ultimately determines all acts of volition (though not all in the same way) and yet holds man accountable only for those acts which they want most to do."

He ultimately elicits, or draws out, all that He has ordained based on our cognitive processes that are affected by the Holy Spirit. But, we can resist that in the first few attempts by choosing our sin nature - what we want most to do. “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” Mark 7:20-23. However, we have to understand that even when we choose our own way first, His will ultimately prevails.

I'm starting to come to grips with God's authority and pre-determination of my life's direction and purpose. His predestination generates the work of the Holy Spirit that is transformational by nature. It comes alongside my inherent sinfulness. I am responsible for my choice to follow Christ and trust His authority. Or, I can choose to follow my sin nature and only trust myself, somewhat delaying the end result until we choose to have the Holy Spirit transform us in that decision.

We have a choice to believe that God is sovereign, truly does have authority over all evil, and that His will plays out exactly how He wants it to in all circumstances. 

"God has spoken to us through His Word, and we are responsible. Yet we have even less excuse for blaming Satan because his deception has been revealed and thus largely removed from us. We must squarely face our responsibility of choosing whom we will serve. Will it be the Lord Creator, Satan or our base human nature? Who will be sovereign in our life?" -John W. Ritenbaugh

1 Peter 2:16 - "Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God's slaves."

Luke 12:47-48 - "The servant who knows the master's will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."

Prodigal

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate... My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours." Luke 15: 20-24, 31


This story is used pretty often in churches, enough so that up until recently, whenever a speaker or pastor would introduce it as the source of their message, I shrugged it off as "old news" and said "I get it, God takes us back even though we're sinners." However, the last 3 times that I've heard it have struck much deeper chords in me, tuning me into how wholistically it explains the human condition and the incredible character of God.

The word prodigal means "to lavish, to yield abundantly, luxuriant." For me, it has been difficult to believe that about God and His character. Until recently, I maintained a core belief about God that discipline and punishment are one in the same, and not listening or following God's rules will lead to punishment and wrath.

I am now learning that God doesn't operate this way and never has. God's wrath is not focused on the mistakes made by those who seek Him, although we make mistakes ALL the time. God is always present, guiding us from the sidelines as we make our own decisions. That's what His "rules and regulations" really are - guidelines and boundaries mapped out by God because He knows the realities of His creation and of the broken world, just like our parents set up rules knowing what is healthy and what will be detrimental to our growth.

I suffer the consequences for decisions made that are not in line with His best for me. But in my failures, God isn't inflicting the suffering and consequences. God is in the discipline, or the guidance and correction, that takes place as we're getting up and moving forward. Our heavenly Father isn't waiting for us to fail so he can inflict punishment, He is waiting for us to realize our brokennes and come back home to Him.

This image is so perfect and beautiful, but I still reject it everyday. I have been ashamed of my mistakes and haven't believed that I'm worthy of forgiveness. I haven't believed that God is trustworthy because I have come to expect disappointment, pain, abandonment, rejection, and punishment.

Someone, like myself, who assumed these things about God's character and was gravely mistaken: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF3FX43F-7Y&feature=related 

The incredible truths that I'm understanding more every day:
God is not ashamed of us. (Hebrews 2:11, 11:16)
God replaces our shame and disgrace with a doubled inheritance. (Isaiah 61:7)
We have always been His. (Luke 15:31)

God isn't waiting for us to grovel at His feet so He can inflict punishment and disappointment. He is waiting for us to return home and understand that we have always belonged to Him. He is longing to show us what we were created to be - His children living in and from a place of unconditional love, perfect trust, and abundant inheritance.

Committment

As many of you have probably heard, Charles Patrick Coggins proposed to me over Easter Weekend and we're getting married at the end of June 2013! The huge outpouring of love and support has been tremendous and I'm thankful for everyone in our lives! I'm in the process of asking my Bridesmaids, so stay tuned for that information and plenty of silly pictures.

Some text reactions to the gorgeous ring that Patrick gave to me, made at Geraci Jewelers:

""HOLY SHIT THAT'S HUGE!!!! :D"

"WOW! Congrats!"

"She will need a shoulder harness to position her hand. Mazel Tov!"

"Holy shit woman!!! :)"

"I just yelled HOLY CRAP!! Haha wow it is beautiful"
"Holy beautiful! Can you still lift your hand?!"

I know, it's ridiculous. I'm honored to wear it for the rest of my life!

At this point, we plan to get married on June 29th 2013 at Church of the Saviour United Methodist in Montgomery and will have our reception at the Bell Event Centre where Patrick proposed!

We plan to have an Open House Engagement Party on Saturday June 23rd 2012 in the evening on UC's campus so we can celebrate with more of our friends, since the wedding will consist of family and close friends. Save the Date and stay tuned for more details!

In the past two weeks, I have learned how important it is to have your significant other as a dedicated teammate, committed to supporting you unconditionally - before engagement, during engagement, and certainly during a marriage. In the plethora of wonderful excitement and questions from loved ones, ALWAYS being on the same page with your fiance(e) is a key to success and navigating through the details and responsibilities that come with a wedding and a marriage.

I'll keep posting updates as we figure them out, and what we discover during our time as an engaged couple! Thanks again for the love and support!

Luke 17:1-3

One day Jesus said to his disciples, “There will always be temptations to sin, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting! It would be better to be thrown into the sea with a millstone hung around your neck than to cause one of these little ones to fall into sin. So watch yourselves!

There is value in disregarding others' opinions of your actions and to let those opinions determine your identity and life decisions. However, if you claim to be a Christian and your actions contradict the identity of Christ that you claim to represent, the perceptions of others are a high priority.

We are being watched, by people who believe what we do and by people who don't. To both groups, a contradiction in our proclaimed identity and actual actions/beliefs causes issues.

Regarding fellow believers, the passage in Luke explains that while we are fully aware of our internal thoughts and private actions, people who are observing may not know the whole story and assume the worst. Therefore, we cause them to stumble and doubt the value of following Jesus because His followers are inconsistent.

Regarding non-believers, the difference between endorsement and acceptance is key. Jesus was accepting of everyone and everything, but clearly did not endorse everything. If we decide to endorse questionable behavior or justify our way into decisions that may not be clearly defined, inconsistency happens here as well.

Within any decision, word, interaction, relationship, life stage change, and behavior: Consistent alignment of belief and action is key.

The Great Romancer

Tangible security from relationships and the world are things that most (if not all) women desire. As I thought about that, it came to mind how our heavenly Father has already promised that for me. He is the great romancer who longs to take care of us and love us unconditionally. But we always look to the world for affirmation and fulfillment.

He loves perfectly, justly, extravagantly, adoringly, and selflessly. He died for us, to save us from death and protect from all evil. How romantic is that?

We are the bride of Christ. Husbands are to love their wives as Christ loves the church (Ephesians 5:25-27). Relationships and marriages aren’t a privilege or an expectation for us. They are a gift that expresses Christ’s heart for us in the tangible world. A Christ-centered relationship should play out that unconditional and extraordinary love.

"I will never leave you or forsake you" (Joshua 1:5). He will ALWAYS take care of us.

"Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life." Psalm 23:6

He has Dreams for us: "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21.

Consecrate

To be dedicated to a sacred purpose. To make or declare sacred. To set apart. To devote.

To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 1 Peter 2:21

Follow God's example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:1-2.

Dedicate yourself to the calling in your life. We're all good at different things and we're meant to be involved in the places where we feel most natural, because that's where we'll be the most effective. Set yourself apart in those places by following the example of Christ to love unconditionally. We can change the world.

Success

Joshua 1

Those are fittest to rule, who have learned to obey.

Success is to obey and follow our Father because He knows what is best for us. There isn’t necessarily a right or wrong answer in e

very situation or life decision. But there are obvious paths that are wrong and disobedient. Each of those things lead to destruction. The things that God invites us into are not leading us to death or to worthlessness. There are boundaries, but only for protection. The things of God are leading us to success and prosperity. Prosperity not being monetary, but finding value in our relationships and pursuit

of our friends and family. Relatio

nships and spiritual generations take priority in our lives because it is what God calls us to do.

I feel extremely successful. My job at Fifth Third bank in HR is solid and I love being able to support my recruiters and candidates. I have great relationships with family and friends. I can support myself. I can go out and have

fun most nights of the week.

Moving forward into the real wo

rld and away from college life has come with challenges though. I'm trying to determine how to balance selflessness and humility with being selective in how I spend my time and efforts. I will need to continually examine how to maintain God's definition of success in my life as I chart new territory and create who I am supposed to be as an adult.

Going to Disneyworld and Harry Potter World with the Vatican was an extraordinary experience. We have all changed so much in the last 4 years, but still maintain a steady enthusiasm for life and for loving each other. I loved being able to facilitate such a wonderful adventure and last hoorah for us.

I'm excited for a summer of working at 5/3, volunteering, serving the UC Alumni Young Professionals, watching friends get married, learning how to be a great friend, and being successful in the eyes of God.