Ooh Chloe

Although I never played the game, I heard a lot of people talk about "Words with Friends." As I sat down to write this post, I thought of it because it's so fitting for what I have to say, and it made me giggle a little to be honest. This summer was really amazing, if you haven't gathered that by now. Of all the great things that happened, one of my favorites was a little "Bible thing" I started doing with a very good friend of mine. It all started one day when when I realized that I went three weeks without reading my Bible and didn't even bat an eye. Honestly, I've gone longer, but this particular day it had been three weeks. (Which is still too long.) I came to terms with the fact that my willpower or resolution wasn't getting the job done. What I needed was accountability. A year ago I would've thought, "Well crap. I don't have anyone," but this year I have someone. I immediately sent them a message asking for that accou

Earlier this summer while at a church conference (the same one I mentioned in It's all heart. ) a different speaker used the story of Jesus and the Rich Young Man (Mark 10:17-31). Some translations say the Rich Young Ruler. Either way, it's the same story. The actual sermon was about idolatry and putting things before God. Leave it to me to get stuck on another point, though. Verse 21 caught my attention and has had it captured pretty much all summer. It says, "Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him...." Why does that mean so much to me? Lots of reasons. At the time is spoke to me because of a personal matter in my life where two people that I cared about were at odds. (More like, one was just living their life and the other was holding a grudge and would not let it go.) When I heard this verse, the first thing I thought of was forgiveness. Here's an excerpt from my notes from the sermon on this particular verse: It's Christ-like to see someon

This summer has truly been a life changing summer for me. Several factors play into this, but it all comes down to loss and strain and butterflies ... just kidding. It comes down to personal growth. (Which apparently did not include overcoming the urge to drop song lyrics all the time.) More specifically, spiritual growth.  Since I was saved two years ago, I've had a slow and (sort of) steady growth rate. Starting a Bible study was a big launch pad, if you will, for me spiritually. After that, a lot of big and little things contributed to more growth. This summer has had its good times, and certainly had its struggles. Through it all, the biggest and maybe overarching theme of all the lessons I've learned is that our motives mean more than our actions. (I touched on this a little in I Will vs. My Will .) I have never been a "bad person." I was a well behaved child in school. My teachers always told my mom, "I wish I had a class full of Chloes." I ne