This month marks ten years since I said yes to Jesus.
Ten years. Ten whole years.
Ten years since He met my fourteen-year-old self in my dimly lit bedroom and whispered into my heart, "You. I choose you." And an entire decade where He hasn't stopped choosing me and asking me to choose Him back.
Jesus is adventure. Choosing Him makes every day a-middle-of-the-storybook-adventure. And even if we are not awake to it, that's truly what it is. Some days I have chosen "in" to the adventure and other days I haven't. But if I gather the courage to lean in, I can hear His voice; with the reflections of a grandfather and the chuckle of a child. He is perfectly free.
And in no way have I arrived or made it, but to celebrate and reflect, I thought I would share ten things that these past ten years have taught me.
Encouragement is life. Never hold it back. Always be generous with encouragement. People come alive in an atmosphere where encouragement is freely given and freely received. It will shift a room. It will set people up for breakthrough. And Jesus is in the midst of it.
Watch what you say. Watch your words. Like really. Watch how you think, how you speak to yourself, how you talk about God, about others. Our words have power. Jesus defeated the devil, so we don't need to empower him with our words. And the Father picked us to be His kids, so we don't need to tear ourselves apart. And the more fear is spoken out, the bigger it becomes, but the more courage is spoken out, the more contagious it becomes.
He loves you. But really, He does. He loves you. He loves you with more energy, passion, time, devotion than you and I can even wrap our heads around. And those just aren't words, they are a reality. And try all you want, but no matter what happens or doesn't happen, that love isn't giving up.
Character matters. Your gifts are awesome, but character is better. What you do is great, but your heart is more of a priority. And your gifts will get exhausted and tired and they won't always impress but your heart before God is the greatest gift we can lay at His feet. Because that's where His gaze is. On your heart.
Live a lifestyle of contentment and hunger. Stay hungry, but stay thankful. Realize that every part of God that we get to see and encounter is a gift, but never settle, stay hungry for more. And just know He is so much happier than you think He is.
The Gospel is powerful and beautiful. In Christian culture, sometimes we get so caught up in "everything else" that we need to return to what Jesus did and what that means for you, for me, for us. All that is dead and gone. All that now gets to be yours. And what your name is now because of Him.
Don't work for God, walk with Him. You don't need to perform, He isn't a cold-hearted Master. You are a son, not a slave. Don't let this society rub off on your relationship with God, but let your relationship with God rub off on the world. Despite the amazing things you are going to do, God is fully pleased with you just because you're His. And get to know Him in a way that you know what He is doing. Walk with Him. Do what He does.
Have fun, laugh & play. Don't be so serious. Enjoy God, enjoy what He has given you. Rest. Laugh. Dance. Make memories. Be you. For awhile, I was so intense, it was like I didn't know how to have fun. Get out of yourself and let go.
Honour people. I can tell you that when I am in a place where I feel like people see me for who I am, who God has made me to be, I become fully alive. And I have seen the same happen for other people. And when we begin to honour people for who they are, who God made them to be, it brings healing, and we begin to pull on everything that God has put on the inside of Him. And I don't know about you but I want to see ALL of GOD come out of every single individual on planet earth.
Be humble. This is something I want to continually grow in. To stop with any entitlements I have, any pride. To never be better than anyone else. To receive and learn from anyone that comes across my path. To know that children can be my teachers. That the older generation can be wisdom to me. That God can confront me on anything and everything in my life and I won't become afraid or angry, but just whisper yes.
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