A Matter of Faith

This summer has been challenging for me. I graduated from college looking forward to a new chapter in life. at first, I really did have some plans, but right before I marched down that aisle for my diploma, my plans began to fall through. Though I was disappointed at first, I knew deep down inside that the Lord would take care of me. I began the summer catching up with friends, pleasure reading, and looking forward to new opportunities in life.

However, my joy started to disappear as the doors to employment began to close one by one. At times I was discouraged, and I just was not happy with the way things were going. Each time I started feeling low, the Lord gave me a verse, an encouragement or some ray of hope to keep me going. Knowing the Lord was in control kept me going.
Next thing I knew, I had not one, not two, but 4 job offers. Now I experienced new stress. Which job or jobs should I choose? Did I make the right choice? Am I a fool to give this up? The questions swarmed in my head, but the answer was becoming more clear. I soon began working part time at K-Mart with a position in a preschool for the fall. Life was good, and I knew the Lord had answer my prayers for work. It was what I had been expecting, but I knew if the Lord provided the positions, I was certain to enjoy a new adventure.
Well life just never gets easier. I have really enjoyed my job at K-Mart, but I have been concerned about schedule conflicts. Without going into too much detail, I was really trying to trust the Lord and not stress about the unknown. I figured if the Lord gave me the jobs, He would take care of the details. However, knowing and believing are two different things. I kept praying about the situation, and already the Lord seems to have taken care of the details. Once again I am anticipating a brand new exciting chapter of life.
One thing this summer has taught me is that I can never give up my faith. God takes care of me each and every day. New problems and trials in life will appear, but the Lord will be right by my side to help take care of the little details. Hopefully I will remember this life lessons and save myself hours of worthless worry.

The Lord is good to them that wait on Him, to the soul that seeketh Him. ~Lamentations 3:25

Healthy Competition: The Greatest Challenge

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."
                                                                                                                         ~James 1:17

Perhaps you may recognize this guy. Most people probably recognize him now as the greatest Olympian ever. Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian with 22 medals (18 of which being gold) certainly has put forth a lot of hard work into his sport. Back in Beijing '08, I cheered him on as he won the most golds ever. This year, I was not as excited for him to meet all of his goals. Why?

This guy right here, Ryan Lochte. I must admit, I followed my cousin's lead of fandom for this amazing athlete. I wanted to cheer for the underdog, because I realized that Michael Phelp's head seemed to be getting a little big in different swims I've seen over the past 4 years. It was looks of "WHAT?!" if he didn't place first.

The London Olympics have shown me other things I am not sure I like seeing. First of all I saw this:

I am sure it is disappointing to so close and yet so far from a gold medal, but seriously, how many people would love to win a silver? We all make mistakes, and I am sorry that Mackayla's happened when it mattered. However, this is not an attitude I would want to display to the world.

Being a sore loser is bad, but so is being a sore winner:

The look of this is what I expected is boastful. This girl's actions all week seem to have been horrifying as she threw fits like a toddler when she lost. How sad for the greatest athletes in the world to act like this.

 I love the Olympics, and I support Team USA. I believe that their accomplishments are the result of hard work. I can't imagine the disappointment when you work so hard for something  yet miss your goals. However it comes down to the fact that our gifts come from the Lord. All athletes in the Olympics trained for gold, they qualified for gold, and when it comes down to it, there can only be one winner. I can be competitive in certain situations, but I pray that my competitive spirit is one that brings honor and glory to God. Just like this girl:

Or like the girl who said coming 4th in the Olympics is not a bad thing:

How often do Christians destroy their testimony by letting the spirit of competition flatten their testimony? It is so ugly the way we let sports, games, tests or whatever drive us to act like we are the center of the universe. Watching the different attitudes of Olympians have made me more mindful of this. I am not saying that all of these athletes are Christians necessarily, but either way sportmanship speaks volumes. I root for the underdog who displays gratefulness to be where they are. Those who just expect greatness and tolerate nothing else do not deserve the glory in my opinion.

After all....."every good gift comes from above...." What does man really deserve?