As far as pregnancy updates go, I've only experienced morning sickness (which is a dumb thing to call it since it lasts all day) all week and that's just not a fun topic to blog about. I've been thinking a lot about why God brought us up here to Illinois. I once only had negative things to say about it and still do get livid from time to time when I think about all of the asinine laws and taxes that the Illinois politicians have implemented here, but I can see now that this time away from my beloved Baton Rouge has been good for me. I have grown in ways that I never would have thought possible. In Baton Rouge, I always stayed busy or at least tried to. I busied myself out of any time to sit and enjoy God's beautiful creation and to think and pray. Had I still been in Baton Rouge, I would not know the difference between a complementarian and an egalitarian nor tried to discover which one I am. I was so comfortable with my church and pastors and being pushed to find another church has unraveled a whole new world of pastors, theologians and teachers to me. I have listened to countless new pastors online and have thus been pushed to identify my theology beyond my old one--whatever my church says. I have through this new world discovered the vast importance of having discernment, something I could define but did not realize that the absence of it is the single most dangerous thing the evangelical church is facing today. With so many new movements in the evangelical church such as prosperity gospel, the emerging church, the Jesus Culture, and countless other insidious heretical false gospels, it has become imperative for me to have doctrinal clarity and conviction based on scripture. Our post-modern culture emphasizes pluralism and tolerance so much that we have lost what is true and what is false. The Bible clearly speaks about the dangers of false gospels and encourages believers to examine EVERYTHING they hear to determine what's true.
What better way to examine and test everything than to be in God's word daily. The first day of my arrival here in Illinois, a friend from Jacob's work called and invited me to attend Bible Study Fellowship. I wasn't sure about it at first since it was different from any previous Bible studies I had participated in, but I have completely fallen in love with it! The leadership asked me to lead a small group this year and we're studying Genesis. My desire to read and study scripture has blossomed and as a result my faith has grown tremendously. I am so thankful for this opportunity and it has been such an incredible experience shepherding ladies in my group. It is definitely time consuming and I'm sure I would have thought it was impossible to do in Baton Rouge, but it has fit in my non-existent schedule here just fine. :-) It has given me something to take ownership of and in the process I have changed and my love for Jesus has grown.
Though I look forward to returning to Baton Rouge in the near future, my attitude has changed and I am now truly thankful for being here. I am finally starting to feel at home and am grateful for my experiences so far. God is good!
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