How He Loves Us...

We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we are all sinking.
And Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way...
He loves Us...

Today has been a good day. Started out somewhat mediocre...I'm not sure how I feel about Bella Milano still. But here is what I do know: my life isn't about waiting tables. This entire situation is temporary. I'm beginning to understand that God really does have a higher purpose for me than mediocre day to day situations and rhythmic routines. I am willing to accept that in whatever situation I find myself in, I'm there for a reason. So even though I'm not sure if I'm going to stick with the whole Bella Milano thing, I know for now that I'm going to be there for a little while. And I really feel like I should keep working at Red Robin for now, because I enjoy it so much. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day, I have to work both jobs and then pick Lauren up from Union Station after work. But it will be okay :)

After work today, I came home and took care of some wedding stuff. Then I went out to the store for some sauce for the tortellini that I made for Neil and I for dinner. It was great :). We went to small group and I really enjoyed it tonight. We met a new couple who came to our group. The woman is from this area, but her husband is originally from Britain, and they both had British accents because they've been living there for a few years and just moved back to the states. I always find British accents so fun. I don't know why. I just like the way they sound. Today in small group we talked about the Great Commission, and how it is the church's job to "make disciples of all nations." I think too often, Christians become comfortable and expect for people to just ask them questions about God... and I know that I've been guilty of this as well. But it is so important to go out and tell people about Christ. Our pastor used a metaphor during church this past Sunday, he said, "It's like seeing your neighbor's house burning down, what kind of people would keep their mouths shut?" The salvation of everyone is so important because people matter to God. So they should matter to us. Yet a lot of people are annoyed with Christians for sharing their faith...but if they knew that their spiritual house was on fire, maybe then they would understand.

This is so hard for me, especially for people that I really care about and I know that they are not saved. I don't want them to feel awkward around me, I want to be able to maintain my friendships...but I also want them to have a relationship with God. It's not a matter of proving that I'm right about what I think...it's a matter of caring for them so much that I want them to experience the blessing of Christ in their own lives. Guess it's just another thing to pray about...

Speaking of prayer, Neil and I had a really good moment of prayer together tonight. We have both committed to our decision to remain sexually pure until our wedding night, and at first Neil wasn't sure how serious about it I was. He was kind of testing the waters a little to see what the boundaries were, and was a little shocked when I put some in place. He felt like it was so arbitrary, but I told him that I felt like it becomes a slippery slope. Once you allow yourself to give into one thing, it's easier to compromise and give into the next thing, and the next thing, and so on. He didn't like that too much, but it did show how much this meant to me, and he was accepting after we discussed it some more. And after we prayed together, I really felt so close to him. I know that God is going to teach us something in this decision, and even if we don't understand His reasoning for this boundary, we know that He has our best interest at heart. I love how my life is when I just trust what God has to say and follow it with faith. I just know that He'll make a difference in my life...