Dreaming for Deepness

I had a dream last night that really got me thinking when I woke up this morning.

Here's the gist of the dream:
I was dying, but not scared. I was almost happy to be finally on my way to meet my Maker and go to heaven. I delighted in the thought of being in the presence of God and leaving the darkness of the world behind. But when I got there, I was given a choice to either continue on or return to earth alive. I chose the world over heaven! Can you believe it?

I woke up shocked.

But then I thought about it.

Why was I so surprised? I chose the world over God everyday. Every day I am given the choice to glorify God or glorify myself; to lift up the kingdom of heaven or lift up the kingdom of me; to set my thoughts on the Father or set my thoughts on the world. And I usually choose myself, me, the world ... every day.

I'm glad I was appalled at the thought of choosing life on this earth over life with God. But the fact is, I do that already. And I don't get disgusted with myself or wonder what I am doing wrong. There's something wrong with this! I work for a Christian company, which is so amazing. I love being able to write about things that glorify our Lord and advance the kingdom of God. But if it weren't for my job, I could go days without thinking about those things.

I know I'm not alone. I need help. I have been a Christian for five years now and don't feel much farther along than I was on that day I accepted Christ into my heart as a 19-year-old college sophomore. And I know part of that is just the enemy trying to get me down and discourage me. But honestly, part of it is because I have done so much less than I'm called to. I don't read every day, I don't pray every day. I know I can't be perfect, but I can strive for excellence.

Will you help me? How do you find encouragement to chase after our Savior in the midst of your busy life?

Please pray that these feelings of yearning will not subside, but will push me into a deeper relationship with our Father.

Happy Birthday to me!!!

Nope, I am not another year older. But today is my birthday...my spiritual birthday. Today marks the day in 2006 when I was born again.

Four years ago today, I laid my life down for Jesus Christ and accepted him as my Savior.
Four years ago today, my heart was captured by a loving and wonderful King.
Four years ago today - at about this time - I was heading to my first "large group."
Four years ago today, I decided to stop drinking until I turned 21.
Four years ago today, I made one of the best decisions I have ever made.
Four years ago today, I completely changed my life, and it hasn't been the same since!

Katie and I got saved on the same day! This is us our sophomore year at ISU, the day after.

And here we are almost four years later, celebrating my actual birthday.

I am so thankful and feel very blessed to be able to share such a special day with my best friend! We've had quite the journey full of lots of ups and downs, but God has really brought us through. We became friends as non-believers and God managed to save us on the exact same day. We've been in each other's weddings, wiped each other's tears, laughed for hours, and have had so many wonderful times. I love my best friend, and I love our wonderful Lord!!

Although He has taken me a long ways in four years, I know I have so much more growth to do and so much more to learn. I look forward to the next four years and so many more honoring and glorifying God. Praise the Lord for His loving mercy and grace, and praise Him for awesome best friends like Katie!

Looking Forward to New Beginnings

The day I have thought about for months is almost here. Ninety percent of our things are in boxes, our moving truck is booked, plane tickets for our moving helpers have been bought, and we will be on our way to Florida in just 59 hours. We've said goodbye to several of our friends and most of our family members, and it is finally starting to sink in. I will be living more than a 20-hour drive away from almost all of the people I love. Although living in Florida is magnificently exciting, it is also incredibly daunting. I remember the feeling I had when I first arrived to Estes Park in the summer of 2007. It wasn't a great feeling, knowing I would be far away from my family. Not only was that only for 11 weeks, but I was surrounded by more than 16 of my closest friends. I can't even imagine how it will feel to drive into Orlando and move into our Winter Park apartment, knowing we will be there for at least 2.5 years and that we won't see out family and friends for months. One thing is different though. I have an amazing, loving husband to lean on and cry with. I am so grateful to God for Erik and for the road our Father has laid out for us. Right now I am doing my best to stay faithful that we will find an apartment we like and that I will get a job. Of course we hope to find a great community, like Cornerstone, that we can call our home for the next few years. Any friends I make may not be able to compare to my current loved ones, but I look forward to meeting new people and making a new home for my new husband and me. Please pray that our transition will be smooth and our travels will be safe.

If you haven't noticed, this is a new blog I started. I will do my best to update it when we get to Florida and continue to write about our new adventure. For those of you reading on Facebook who would like to follow, the URL is http://www.erikandgina.blogspot.com/ Look for more when we get there!