Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

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I’m giving You my heart and all that is within. I lay it all down for the sake of You my King. I’m giving You my dreams. I’m laying down my rights. I’m giving up my pride for the promise of new life. And I surrender all to You.


That’s what I did. A few years ago when that song first pierced my soul I knew life couldn’t be the same. Sometimes I forget, get selfish, or ignore His cost. But I know every time I hear this song it’s His voice that is singing directly to me reminding me of the moment I surrendered. He’s got a lot more grace than I do. He shows that beautiful grace to me by waking me up each morning – whether I rejoice in that gift or hit snooze and couple more times is the choice He leaves up to me.

GRACE. Why did He do it? What motivated Him? That was Christ’s whole life example. He offered grace, love, compassion, forgiveness, and truth to everyone He came across. He offered this lifestyle to us as the best way to live. To pass it on He says, “Do for others what you would like them to do for you. This is a summary of all is taught in the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 7:12) He didn’t say “don’t do what you don’t want others to do for you.” No He raised the bar Himself and led the way…well, He is the Way.

Over these months I’ve learned and relearned the constant prayer of asking for grace from God and others as He teaches me to die more to myself. It’s so hard! I wasn’t taught to give up all my rights. Never knew that I should serve everyone around me until it hurts. Even when it hurts! Those times usually mean the most though. It’s those times that challenge me to change into something greater. But who wants to serve someone that’s mean and hurtful – Jesus is always up for the challenge and He’s kindly bringing me into His steps. Though I mess up a lot this is what He’s showing me:

>>That time in Africa when my flesh was irritated and impatient with the selfishness of others He showed me my own pride. He led me to the light of the Word which reminded if I am to have the same attitude of Christ than I am to be a slave. A slave!? I hated that. I was so confused. Ha – how are You supposed to teach them a lesson when You’re telling me I NEED to act and be a slave to others. I did it. Reluctantly I shared with my team just what He had invited me into – more of a lifestyle of slavery – and how I didn’t want to do it. Turned out that me stepping out in that way and following God when I didn’t want to made some unexpected impressions on people. Cool.
 

>>Then there’s this whole apology thing. You think that people would just know when you want or expect them to say they’re sorry. Guess not. Time spent closely with others has given me many opportunities to be patient with their quirks. The patient times allows me to step back and refocus how I should see them – as His child, given worth by the most high King, beloved. This recognition of “blame” or “fault” also pushes me to apologize too. And in all reality its never as bad as I fear. The process of true repentance refreshes my soul, humbles my heart, and allows me to see Christ more fully in that other person.
 

>>Then there was that time with the whole team – I think it was all of us – when we decided to raise the bar. Most likely this event was some time in our recent history. See, life gets tiring. People wear out when they do it all on their own. Life gets all fuzzy and gray and kinda the same all over. Like, we’ve done this before what’s the point now? That’s when our team decided as a whole we needed to raise the bar and make our last short months lived to the fullest. But how does that look and where does it start? Each of us had to be willing to make that a personal example. We needed to live above the bar in our own actions and attitudes. Otherwise…well, we just didn’t want to take that road.
 

>>What about when you see people with tired and lazy attitudes? God’s still changing my heart on this one and I realize that He is the ONLY one that can change me in this. It’s not a mental game to convince myself to show love and grace to others – it really does only come from Him. But He’s pushed me to come along side others with GRACE and let my hard work and positive attitude be an example.
 

You can’t change people on your own terms. I can’t change people on mine. Only God can. That’s not intended to be a roadblock in the work of transforming lives. It should give you HOPE! With tons of prayer He’s changed me little by little everyday. He’s changing my heart by filling it more with His love. See, when He gives me time and direction in my prayers things don’t happen magically as I request. Instead, by being with Him the love He has for His people rubs off on me. This unfailing love continues to motivate me to serve and love and be the example He was. Whether others are mean, hurtful, pleasant, or kind I still am chosen to be His example – not mine.

[The motivation for this blog occurred a few days ago when I realized I was getting more love and encouragement from home than from my teammates. I sadly shared this with my girls. They quickly took initiative to pray for me, speaking truth and life over me. We continued that ritual each night since for someone different. Tonight we ended with Kari and tomorrow we’ll start again. I kinda like these chicks!]