Life is Good

I guess it has been quite a while since I posted last summer.  Oops!  Looking back, I realize I have gone through quite a lot in the past school year: I completed my first half marathon; built relationships; became a college graduate; made plenty mistakes; served on the leadership team for a college Christian ministry; completed my senior thesis; worked about 35 hours a week to plan a Gala; fell more in love with God; witnessed another beautiful wedding; AND have been dating, falling in love with, and learning what it means to serve my best friend. 

God is so good. 

I am currently sitting on my front porch marveling at God’s commitment to woo and pursue us.  Our whole lives are a love story with Him as the Ultimate Pursuer.  How cool is that?  He loves us and reaches His hand out to us even when we consciously choose to turn our backs to Him.  Wow. 

I could ramble forever about God’s love, but meeting with my good friend Andrea is what ultimately inspired me to write a post today.  Mark, my boyfriend (WHAT?!), and I met with her because she is interested in learning more about the Bible and practical ways to read it.  We chatted and she asked a couple questions, but really just wanted to listen to our experiences, so we shared with her our favorite chapters, Psalm 91 and 1 John 4.  Both convey God as our ultimate Protector and Lover.  It was such a neat reminder of God’s promises for us, PLUS, it was really awesome watching Andrea catch a little glimpse from God’s love story.  She is so inquisitive and desiring to know more.  I am super excited to watch God continue to pursue her heart!!  And I pray that God uses me and Mark as catalysts in their love story!

Summer Lovin'

Love is in the air.  After attending my second summer wedding, the thoughts of everlasting love, friendship, and commitment have been swimming through my mind.  Even though I tell myself day after day…all in God’s time, Genevieve…I feel the urge to meet that one, right person nagging deep within my being.  Will I meet him today?  Will I meet him tomorrow?  Next month?  What if he was standing right next to me and I never took the time to notice?

I feel as if I used to be better at letting God take control and not thinking about the person who I will live with the rest of my life.  Maybe peering into my dreaded senior year in college has made me anxious.  All this talk about the real world and life after college is getting serious.  How many times have I counseled people by saying, “God has everything in your life planned, so don’t worry about the future when you can live fully in the present; just allow everything to fall into place”?  Now, that is a lot easier said than done.

This summer, as I watched my friends celebrate their love for one another in two brilliant weddings, I can only sit back and thank God for bringing them together and for teaching me the art of patience.  For the time being, I enjoy leaning on God and learning more about what it means to be His bride.  Life is full of unexpected twists and turns, and I am so excited to embrace the journey, trusting in His guidance.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

Today's Challenge

The secret of agape is that the more of it you share, the more you get. Who will you share it with today?

Spreading Agape

I have been meaning to create this page ever since I finished blogging about my European adventures (you can read about my travels here: Genevieve in Barcelona), but never seemed to find the time during the busy school year.  I don’t really have a specific writing theme planned, so I’m just going to go with the flow and see where that takes me.  I’m aiming for a mixture of life, love, and the pursuit of happiness. 

This past year I have come to define my life’s purpose of spreading God’s love to all the people He places in my life.  I specify God’s love because that love is perfect.  It is beyond what we expect or deserve.  He lets us do what we want, but rejoices when we choose to love Him in return.  His love is unconditional.  God is love.  His love for me and for you doesn’t even begin to compare to the love I have to offer, but He can use my life in crazy ways to share His love to others.  As I learn to lean on Him more and trust in the Spirit, He is able to use me in more ways than I could have ever imagined.  And that is so exciting!  Love love love.  Agape!

How powerful is it when Jesus shares this with His disciples?

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).

He explicitly commands us to love one another.  If all people believed in a just, loving God, we would be living in a different world.  Hear about some of the injustices in our world, such as human trafficking in my friend, Robbie’s post here.  Can you imagine an environment where we all set out to love one another unconditionally without question?  There would be no murder, rape, hatred, yelling.  What if this week we all strive to spread a little agape love to 10 people?  It doesn’t have to be through big, major displays, but a little kindness here and there goes a long way.

The greatest act of love God shared with us was sending down His only, perfect Son to die on the cross for our lives to save us from sin. 

“But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Think about sharing a little of God’s love (agape) this week.  I bet it’ll benefit you too!