The Pursuit of God

Whenever I get some extra time from reading all the books I have for my classes, I have been reading, Wild at Heart by John Elderedge. So far, I have really enjoyed this book. A few weeks ago I was reading about how women long to be pursued by a man. I would have to agree. :) Then, it talked about how God also longs for us to pursue Him. I know that His word tells us to love Him with all of our hearts, our souls, and our minds. This would obviously mean basically the same thing. In my mind though, they were separate. I know that God wants our love and everything from us. But personally knowing and understanding the word "pursue," takes things to a different level. I want that man to pursue me because he loves spending time with me and wants to know me deeper. I want him to desire to know the silly little quirks about me. I want him to call me randomly during the day to let me know that he's thinking of me. It hit me this night that Jesus wants us to do the same. He wants us to long to be with Him and to know as much about Him as possible.

This past year has been a strange year for me in regards to friendships. Honestly....I have been struggling big time. I attach myself to people I love and would spend every minute with them if possible. Last week I was having a pity party for myself that things shouldn't be the way that they are. How could these people that I love not want to be with me all the time? I love them! Well, today God again brought me back to the idea of me pursuing Him. I heard Him say to me, "Amanda, I know your pain because I sometimes feel this from you. I want you to pursue me." Wow. Again God has shown me that I must continue to put Him before men.

Go pursue God...He is waiting!

Coming to an end...with a new beginning in sight

This past week was the first week of classes for my last semester. It was one of the longest weeks of Taylor for me. I forgot a little what it is like to be a student. Being out of classes and getting a glimpse into the "real world" and then coming back to studying and homework is not easy. However, I am so thankful that I will be finishing off my time here at Taylor with all of my friends as a legitimate college student.

Anyways...I am a pretty sentimental person, so I have been thinking about the "last" this and the "last" that since August, the start of senior year. The truth is that I love Taylor University. It has been nothing but a blessing in my life. These past four years have truly been my best; however, they have also been the most challenging. When I look around the campus, I see beauty everywhere. This beauty is mainly in the people that make up this place. Being a senior, there are times when you feel like you don't know anyone because there are so many underclassmen. Even so, there are so many people that I walk by and am thankful for knowing them. I sometimes get excited to think that we have all been under the same type of an education and that we each have such different gifts and talents and personalities. It makes me think of the Body of Christ and how we all work together. How amazing it would be if all of these Taylor students and all the other Christians out there, would keep this type of energy and passion about the Lord and use it for His glory. It is beyond comprehension I think. Being with these people and seeing Christ shining brightly fills me with hope. I still know that I will struggle with leaving, but I will leave in hope of a bright future...knowing that God is working everywhere through His people...especially in those Upland students. :)