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typing this kinda fast, so bear with me, gotta head to class!

Two Funerals, One Wedding. context: Romans 6:1-5

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.

When we accept Christ, we are united with Him. Our past is Christ’s past and Christ’s past is our past. His future is our future. The day we accept Christ into our lives, desiring the intimate relationship that He wants with us, the following occurs:

I attended my funeral, Christ’s funeral, and my wedding to Christ

What does this look like? Let’s say there are two people that are about to get married today. Will and Holly. Will is a self-made ‘bajillionaire’. Holly on the other hand has loads, upon loads of college debt and credit card debt. When Will marries Holly, despite his debt-free status, he takes upon Holly’s status of having loads of debt. Does this stop Will from marrying Holly? No.

Galatians 2:20 reads, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

                  two funerals. one wedding.

It’s been a while since I’ve lasted touched this blog. With a semester almost in the bag, I’m just that much closer to graduating from college.. graduating from college, just the idea is a scary thought, but realistically that whole event isn’t too far from where I’m standing right now.

In TWO years, I will, hopefully, be a college grad that is not only armed with a degree signifying my four years of schooling but also armed with the ‘double-edged sword’ - being well-versed in it and continuously making an impact on campus and, dare I say, the world? It’s weird to think how far I’ve come as both a college student, future educator, roommate, friend, daughter/sister of Christ. Beginning my freshmen year, I could never have anticipated my faith growing into a full-fledged relationship with God, becoming less religion, less of myself, and more of Him.

Philippians 3:7-8 ‘But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.’

Bold verse. One of which I aspire to live by each and every day, that when I look in the mirror, I can reflect Christ and His unending love for all.

Prayer Requests: One thing I’ve learned about prayer is that it is SUCH a powerful thing, it can be done around the clock, it’s our direct line to God, and sooooo many more things.

• Pray for the Vision Team going out to 4J during Thanksgiving Break. Pray for safe travels to and from, to be welcomed in peace, and for spiritual conversations abounds. Pray for relationships that will form and for boldness in both truth, grace, and love.

• Pray for Jared. If you do not know his story, I encourage you to read his entries: [(http://sylvesjf.wordpress.com/2010/10/16/october-15-2010/)]

Random blurb from a couple days ago. Saw a former McDonald’s co-worker. Its weird to say that I probably will never see them again. Ever. Working alongside someone for 3 1/2 months, I’ve gotten to know so many of them, getting a glimpse of each of their lives and what they are going through. Hearing so many different life stories, it makes the world that much more real to me - that these stories aren’t just the ones on paper but those that are REAL people; real people that have families, aspirations, regrets, dreams, goals. Its sad to say that realistically, I will never see them again. I won’t see their smiles in person, hear their laughter, and the relationships that they all had with each other. Its rather bittersweet. I’m going to really miss these people. I’m sure there’s some type of cliche saying like it’s better to miss than to never miss at all.

Project here in Ocean City ends in 7 days. Lifelong friendships are being cemented and made for the long run, memories are being stored, pictures capturing moments that will live on. If you had 7 days to live in a Christ-centered community aimed to ‘Live Out the Gospel’, how would you live it? Would you spend it getting into God’s Word, the Bible more? Would you spend more late nights on the porch talking with friends? Would you go out on the boardwalk, proclaiming Christ’s name and the goodness that he lavishes on us, His grace and love He has for us that never runs out?

If you had 7 days to live out the Gospel, how would you do it?

This week is Prayer/Vision week. One of the many things that I will take away from this are the ‘What If’s’ of life. There are a couple that “struck a chord” with me, so to speak. The What If’s are the wondering statements that we all have like what if I woke up early today? What if I went to class today? What if I told him/her what I really meant? What if I did go? What if I went the other way? What if I tuned my heart to the beat of the Gospel, instead the beat of my own heart? What if instead of telling God how big my problems are, I tell my problems how big our God is? What if I was more intentional with pursuing people for Christ? What if..

Even though, I think it’s okay to ponder the What If’s of life, the purpose of pondering is not to always wonder or wallow in your past. As Rafiki of the Lion King story would say, “It’s in the past. It doesn’t matter.” If you reflect in the past, make sure that you don’t DWELL in it.

In the Bible (NIV), in Matthew 6:25, it says, “Therefore I [Jesus] tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” Matthew 6:26-34 is a sweet passage that is a definite read for all. For me, it allows me to reflect, where am I thinking most about? Is it how I dress? How I appear to people - especially their first impression of me? And am I worrying about what I can do in my life when ultimately, God has it all planned out; every route that I decide to emabrk upon, every outcome that will follow after that. Another thing that I get out of this passage is, ‘Am I questioning God’s plan?’ If I’m questioning, am I really allowing God to take control in my life? Am I allowing Him to work in my life for the sake of reaching out to others?

Coming to a close, an analogy that is one of the many summaries of project. My life is a car’s windshield. as life happens more & more, gunk, bugs, salt, sand, you name it, sticks to my windshield. Every day, I trick myself into thinking that I can see through it when in reality its caked on with all that stuff. I have windshield wipers that help to clear a little bit to help me see daily. One of the many things that I’ve learned about is the Holy Spirit. In my life, the stuff stuck to my window is the sin in my life, the mistakes - past, present, and future. We can all use the Holy Spirit in the same way we use windshield washer fluid, helping us to reveal sin in our lives, for us to confess our sins to Jesus, and one another (James 5:16). With the help of our windshield wipers, brothers & sisters in Christ, we can wipe away the gunk. The one thing to remember about this is that we can be made clean because of Christ’s sacrifice for us, we may not be perfectly clean here on earth, but in heaven, we are made as white as snow. I can go more into this, but my thumbs are growing weary again.. I’ll be seeing you soon, friends from home and Iowa City!