random thoughts

*please note before reading that this post is way overdue*

sometimes i wonder how God can be so good to us. specifically to me.

these past couple weeks have been especially hard with lots of schoolwork. sewing, drawing, microeconomics, art history, seven ideas, and history of costume are all very time consuming classes just on their own. put them all together and you get about an hour of sleep a night.
not to mention fashion student organization, fashion shows, hall council, two jobs, h2o hangouts, church and all of the different teams i'm a part of. this semester, mabel is on overload. to an extreme. my planner is about 2 inches thick and on any given day i can have as many as 6 events!

yet, in the midst of all of this organized chaos, i am super joyful. i'm not only finding time for the Lord, but i'm making Him the priority. normally, i'd just say "i don't have time for that" and let it be. but that's not at all the case.

i'm currently going through the book of Acts and wow am i amazed. God is so, so incredible. if you know anything about me, you i am not really much of a history buff. i love art and costume history, but if it's any other class i'm usually sleeping. the lessons that God is teaching me through Acts, however, have me wide awake.

two weekends ago, h2o held their annual fall getaway retreat. both kent and pittsburgh churches were present, and we all had a fantastic time. besides the last night games of ice and basketball, bonfires and intimate conversation with close friends, we were blessed to have amazing teachings! jon shah from h2o ohio state came with 3 jam packed sessions that left us all with more ideas to ponder over than any of us were really prepared for.

his first and last teachings were especially impactful. at first, he opened with the story of martha and mary from luke 10. mary makes the choice to be super attentive to Jesus, so much so that her sister martha is demanding that Jesus ask her to help with the preparations! yet, in the middle of all of the necessary chores, Jesus calmy denies her request. 

"'martha, martha,' the Lord answered, 'you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.'" Luke 10 : 41 - 42

wow. i'm so in shock about what's going on here. and how relevant this is in it's application to my own life! i get so wrapped up in things (even things in the church) that are not Jesus. nothing could ever possibly be great enough to be a substitute for Him.

matthew 13 : 44 - 46 really helps explain the lesson here well:
"the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. when a man found it, he did it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. again the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. when he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it."

my treasure is in Jesus Christ alone! how amazing is our God!

jon's last teaching went over a passage in matthew 14 where Jesus walks on water out to his disciples in a boat. what's really interesting about this passage is that peter, for a short time, walks on the water toward Jesus! unlike most teachings i've heard on this section of scripture, jon didn't highlight what peter did wrong; instead, he advertised peter as a winner!!!

yes, peter lost sight of Jesus and started to sink, but he did walk on the water! how amazingly incredible. when we have those little mustard seeds of faith, we can truly accomplish anything! i could just feel God relaying one message to me so clearly:

Mabel, it's time to step out of the boat.
it's time to take me a faith. it's time to get out of your comfort zone.


on a completely different note, i'm also reading this book called when God writes you love story by eric and leslie ludy. i would recommend this to anyone at any age, single or not. it's definitely a good book for just learning how to love the Lord as your first love, why that's even important, and how to love our counterparts. i know that my relationships with my brothers in Christ tremendously improve when i remember to put into practice what i'm reading. even my relationships with my family have improved.

in this delightful read, the ludy's talk about how your family is like practice for loving your [future] spouse. now that's something i never thought of! all this time, i'm sitting here thinking, "well when i'm married everything will be different" but how can that be true unless i'm working on myself now? if im not practicing tenderness towards my closest family members, those that are hardest to love, how can i ever hope to be a good wife when i'm having a bad day and my patience flies out the window?


God is definitely giving me wake up calls here and there. i'm so excited to continue learning from Him.