Happy Thanksgiving!

"You have given so much to me. Give one thing more...a grateful heart." - George Herbert

"Lord, you are to be blessed and praised; all good things come from You. You are in our words and in our thoughts, and in all that we do." - St. Teresa of Avila

As you celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with your family, may you also remember and give thanks for all that God has given you. May you remember his goodness to you in the year behind you and look forward expectantly for promised blessings in the year to come. God bless you!

The Path of Perpetual Wonder

I have a well-worn copy of My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers on my shelf. Actually, I have several copies. I received a couple of them when I graduated from high school and never opened them. I received another one summer for being on staff as a camp counselor. I did use that one...but only during the summer. Finally, I bought my own copy upon graduating from college to use in an accountability group with a couple of high school girls. That is the one that is well-worn.

I am relatively sure that I still have not read the entire devotional. It is a difficult read in some ways, cutting you to the core. That can get exhausting. Still, it is a book I return to again and again.

As I browsed through it again today, I ran across this quote. I have nothing to add. His words say it all. I thought this might speak to you all in the midst of the uncertainty called college. May it inspire and challenge you as you seek to follow Him.

"You do not know what you are going to do;the only thing you know is that God knows what He is doing. Continually revise your attitude towards God and see if it is a going out of everything, trusting in God entirely. It is this attitude that keeps you in perpetual wonder - you do not know what God is going to do next. Each morning you wake it is to be a "going out," building in confidence on God.

Have you been asking God what He is going to do? He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is going to do; He reveals to you Who He is."

Being Here Now

"Watch with glittering eyes the world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places." - Roald Dahl

I love the season of Fall. I love to watch the leaves change...and the temperature. With fall comes color, cider, warm blankets, bonfires, and the holidays. This year our Fall was a little delayed. The leaves aren't as bright as usual because of the lack of consistent rain and a late frost last year. Even still, this season is beautiful. I think somehow the sparseness of the color has made me notice it even more. As I drive down random streets, I encounter a bright red or bright orange tree here or there and it just takes my breath away. God is so creative.

The season of Fall also means the stress of tests, papers, and projects for you as a student. I know...I was one not long ago. I remember well the feeling of excitement for the holidays coupled with the tension of finishing what felt like a thousand papers and projects each year during seminary. The irony of it all is that just outside of the library where I spent the better part of my afternoons and evenings (and some mornings!) stood the most gorgeous ginkgo tree you could ever imagine. (See the photo above for a glimpse of a ginkgo tree right here in Arkansas. The one at Asbury was even larger and more vibrant than this one!). Most days I was too wrapped up in my studies to see it. Even in the middle of Kentucky (stunning in the Fall, by the way...), I found it difficult to enjoy this season I love so much.

My challenge to you today is to be present in this season and every season of your life. It is so easy to look too far forward and miss what God is saying right in front of you. Even looking too far ahead to otherwise good things (holidays, family, graduation, etc.) can cause us to miss the unbelievable things He is trying to say to us and show us in our present. And He has so much to say to us through creation and the created...

Stop. Breathe. Relax. Enjoy. Pray. Listen. Be.