birthday.

I wanted to write a blog because I found this gorgeous picture and felt compelled to share it with the one or three people who faithfully read my blog. But alas, I have nothing profound to say today.

However, I have had the best birthday month EVER :)
First, my boyfriend took me to the park, gave me Bojangles, and sang me the sweetest song that he wrote just for me.
Then, my friends and I went to the greatest place on Earth - Cracker Barrel - for my birthday dinner. During the duration of the meal I received about 39394032 "happy birthdays". That is now officially my favorite phrase in the English language.
And THEN, tonight my boyfriend took me to Red Lobster and to see Whip it. And then he was very adamant about having me home at exactly ten o'clock. To be honest, I was somewhat peeved, though I didn't say anything, that he only wanted to see me till ten on my last night at Liberty before Thanksgiving break, but when I got home my AMAZING roommate, Jessika, had baked big, huge chocolate chip cookies and had organized a quad surprise cookie-eating gathering just for my birthday :) Greatest roommate ever? I think so. I'm not peeved about my boyfriend wanting me home by ten anymore. He's pretty amazing too.
And yet to come I have a birthday dinner with my parents and extended family Monday and ANOTHER birthday dinner with my parents and sister next Saturday.

What a great month.
That concludes today's ramblings, except for this one last word:

"After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you." - 1 Peter 5:10
This is hope. มุ่งหวัง

goodness.

In light of recent events, I have been awestruck by the goodness of my God.

God has predominately been revealing His goodness in my personal life. In the past week, God's plan for my life has caused me a vast amount of confusion. His plan for now and His plan for my life in the future didn't seem to align. I've had the looming feeling that something precious to me is about to be taken away. But I was reminded that "ALL things work together for good for those that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose." That's a promise from the Living God. I remain astonished that such a big God would promise good even to me. Yet I am even more astonished that such a small me can rely on such a big God to remain true to this promise. He gives and takes away, but His blessings will always far overshadow my sacrifice. I am in awe.

I was also recently inspired by an amazing thought. God's fame and His goodness work together to form something so beautiful; it's captivating. I was listening to "Strong Enough" by Stacie Orrico. It's old, but it has helped me through a lot. When the song said, "As I stand against this cold hard wall, oh will You pass me by? Will you criticize me as I sit and cry?" I was struck by the realization of just how great God's love for us is. If Barack Obama were to pass me by I wouldn't think anything of it. He's so famous...why should he notice someone like me? But how much more famous is our God? He is the most famous character in all of history, yet He notices us. Even more, He doesn't scoff at our pain, even if it's self-inflicted. Instead He, Himself, came down to us to do something about it on the cross. How good is this God?

Lastly, the subject of Calvinism vs. Arminianism - or predestination vs. free will - weighs heavily upon the Liberty campus. In Theology class, or even in just hearing the conversations of the students on the street, I feel flooded by the subject. But instead of bending my perspective one way or the other, this debate has left me with a new-found wonder at God's goodness. Before coming to Liberty, I was of the opinion that Calvinists believed in a malevolent God who looked at the earth and said, "I choose you and you to go to Heaven, and I choose you and you to go to Hell. Look at my power, muahahaha." But now I realize that Calvinists believe in the same good and merciful God in whom Arminianists believe. Even though God creates some people knowing that they will go to Hell, He is good. Even if God only died to save one person from Hell, He would still be a good God because that one person deserves eternal punishment. Yet His goodness far exceeds that. Whether He died for the sins of the whole world or only for the elect, God is good.

So, this Thanksgiving let's choose to be thankful. Even though life is hectic and our stress and problems seem to outweigh our happiness at times, let's choose to remember what a good God we serve and to come into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise.

Let's be thankful for our hope...
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