tuesday morning

Hey Tuesday morning, thank you for not being Monday.

Yesterday was a zoo at work. But the Lord was right there with me. I was so encouraged when I opened up my inbox and found a couple emails from some dear ladies who genuinely care for my soul. It was this HUGE practical reminder of how much God loves me.

We've been talking a lot about community at church, how we need to stop "attending" church and start being the church. Growing up a pastors kid I've really had little choice in the matter of being the church. But only in the past few months am I really learning what kind of community Christ is calling us too in John 13:35. I am a bit of a lone wolf..... I always joke with my family I'll never read that Paul and David Tripp book titled, "Relationships- a Mess Worth Making" because I don't really need people, often I don't like people. I get over people shockingly fast and have a incredibly sinful habit of giving up when relationships get tricky. These might be my natural sinful tendencies but Christ calls us, he calls me to a higher standard. I'm instructed to love like Christ. I'm called to forgive a million times. I'm called to love everyone, even those people that are hard to love. The ones you butt heads with all the time, the ones that offend you, the ones that have hurt you, you know... Those ones.

Jesus, I have relationships right now that would be easier to give up on. There are relationships that I have given up but they still sting. There are relationships that are flourishing. All of those relationships are gifts from you. You are the Lord of reconciliation. You make broken things whole again. Scotty Smith said in a prayer on his blog, "You humble stubborn people. You soften hard people. You free stuck people. You gentle angry people. " Jesus I am a proud, stubborn, stuck, hard, angry person and these things keep me from loving like you. Jesus humble me, soften me, free me, gentle me so that your name might go forth and so that I can love people.