in a little less than 2 months (right after the wedding of miss betsey smith) i am packing up my LIFE and moving to lexington, ky--about 6ish hours from my hometown of charlotte, nc. and no--i don't really know anyone there, but i'm excited to dive into a church community that will become my new family. i trust that what all my carolina friends and fellow IV'ers have been for me at carolina, my church family at crossroads will be for me this coming year. it's going to be a big transition, i know, but i believe competely that God led me to this experience and is getting ready to rock my world with the things He has in store for me. i'm still not sure if i'm ready to leave college behind--i love UNC sooo much. the campus, the people, the town, the sports, my friends, my church, heck, even my classes (yes i'm a religious studies dork--too bad i only figured that out for my senior year. that's another story). but if i think back to freshman year, i was terrified coming to this place, and now i don't want to leave. so i trust that even if i initially transition poorly (or more likely--awkwardly) to ky, it will feel like home in no time. and i am ready to be in that new place with new people--moving on to the next stage.
there's a couple of reasons i chose the blog title that i did. "give yourself wholly" is a snippet from a verse in 1 Timothy that the Lord has led me to meditate on as i prepare for the upcoming year in ministry:
"set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity...be diligent in these matters, give yourself wholly to them" (4:12, 15).though this is only one aspect of how i am preparing myself to enter ministry, i think it is an important one, especially working with youth. i am not perfect, only Jesus is. but i need to make a commitment to living my faith by example because i will be in a position where impressionable young friends will be looking to me as a Christian sister and role model--& i want them to see that i put my money where my mouth is, so to speak. i'm not someone who spurts bible verses at them all the live-long day and then goes out back to smoke a cigarette and curse up a storm. faith in action--for me this will mean everything from being consistent with quiet times to abstaining from alcohol. it doesn't mean that i will cover up my weaknesses or try to hide the fact that i am broken. but it does mean that i need to be self-disciplined and not be a stumbling block for the very people i am supposed to be ministering to.
the blog title is also influenced by one of my favorite dcb songs: wholly yours. i love how this song plays on wholly/holy homophone--God is holy, and He calls us to be wholly His. my favorite part of the song goes like this,
"here i am, all of me, finally everything, wholly, wholly, wholly Yours". ok, well i really love all the lyrics to that song, but i journaled about that verse as i was still in the decision-process about kentucky. i believe it's the most i can offer to God--my whole self. whether that is my whole broken self, my whole sinful self, my whole confused and lost self, etc, it's still all of me and that's what God desires. so i'm ready to spend this next year (and my life) giving all of myself to Him and what He calls me to do.
ok, this is getting a bit long, and i really want you all to read without getting bored, so i'll save some other things i'm thinking about for next time
--other verses/books i'm thinking about to prepare for next year and generally how i've been growing spiritually this past year
--the OT class i'm taking this summer and my teacher who enjoys drop-kicking things that Christians believe about the Hebrew Bible
thanks for sticking with me---plenty more to come! love, whitney
ps--everyone should check out amanda's blog (my summer roommate!). it's called buxon.
1 comment:
great post Whitneeee! :) and your blog looks great!
p.s. - thanks for the plug. i guess i better start writing...haha
Post a Comment