bethieb-rose.blogspot.com

I've been posting in increments since I wanted to include the full story, but haven't had the time to sit down and type the whole thing! After college Drew moved back to High Point to start work and Beth moved to Boone to get her Master's at Appalachian State. When Beth was in her first year teaching at Southwest High School (2015), she sent Drew a Facebook message (ah, the era of social media) asking about apartments because she was looking to move out of her parents' house. She knew he was single because his cousin Holly had mentioned to a mutual friend (Ashley) that she'd like to set them up, and Ashley had mentioned it to Beth over dinner in NYC in August.

*Let me go off on a tangent and say that if you're treating the Bible app like Snapchat and just open it and click through a post to "save your streak" and don't really comprehend what it says, this method of accountability isn't really effective and you're just going through the motions to 'save the streak.' Anyway, yesterday's devotional (from "Passion and Purpose" by Charles Stanley) was about not filling your schedule and how today's world is fast-paced and we feel the pressure to "keep up." He didn't rush from place to place, trying to please people (I'M A PEOPLE PLEASER AND I'M TRYING TO BREAK FREE FROM THIS MENTALITY). BUT, I have to remind myself to be like Jesus and sometimes get away, regroup, decide what's priority and what's not, and not feel like every single thing matters at once.

Lately I've been doing a lot of reading that encourages people (especially millennials) not to get caught up in social media, because doing so causes you to constantly ask yourself "Is my life as exciting as this person's? He created each person on this earth in a different way to serve a different purpose and to be content in their uniqueness. Sadly, it's hard in today's world with so much at our fingertips to compare ourselves to, to compare our significant others to, our jobs, cars, houses, etc. The hope I have, though, is that this causes believers to trust even harder in Jesus, to be even more radical in our faith and encouraging others, to be even more determined to see ourselves as God sees us.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. In these verses, Paul talks about being pressed but not crushed, perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken, and struck down but not destroyed... if you are a follower of Christ. As we receive grace and sustenance for each day from God, we should become more thankful, which goes along with what I've been intentional about this week - writing a list of things Thinking of this life and world as temporary and hurting, and focusing on loving others, trying to show the world a better way, and looking forward to eternity with Christ, all really help when you're focused on the "small picture" of a hard day or season in life. :)