Dreams

By Jen Pattengill, Apple Valley Campus

Dreams, we all have them. When we are young we dream of what our lives will look like, who we will marry, that Prince Charming riding in on his white horse to sweep us off of our feet. Or maybe we have planned out a career path, the type of house we will live in or the friendships we will have, the number of perfectly behaved children, I could go on forever!  While most if not all of us have dreamed of a life, lifestyle, possession  etc, very few  of us are actually living the exact life we dreamed of when we were younger.

While I am blessed on many levels, I have an amazing husband who loves God, 3 beautiful girls and many friends, none of it actually looks the way I thought it would. And if I am measuring my life by outward successes or failures, to most people it would seem that I am fairly ordinary.  No significant career title, although what is really more significant than mommy ;). No vast riches or wealth, we are a typical family living the average life, except for this… I do not measure the success of my life by titles or riches but rather my relationship with my Heavenly Father and my obedience to His plans for my life. If at the end of my life I can stand before my Father to only hear Him say Well Done! Then I will have obtained the success we all long for on some level.

As I was thinking about my own life and the direction it has taken I was immediately reminded of Jeremiah 29:11-13

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you

and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will

 call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek

me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

 Now honestly my first reaction to this mental dialogue I had with God over this verse was “God, this can’t be the verse that you want me to consider at this time. I have heard this verse quoted/preached dozens of times! I want something new and fresh from your word God! But alas, I opened my Bible and read it anyway. And here is what God showed me…Jeremiah’s life was ordinary as well! When Jeremiah spoke, no one listened, he was poor, thrown into prison, rejected by friends and family. Definitely not someone you would have looked up to during his time or even someone that you would have labeled successful, BUT he obeyed God! Jeremiah did not allow the physical manifestations of success to dictate his obedience. I would imagine that Jeremiah’s own personal plans of being obedient to God did not include being poor, thrown in prison or being rejected by those he loved. I do believe though that regardless of the worldly measure of his success Jeremiah lived a life of NO REGRETS! And regardless of how unsuccessful Jeremiah appeared to those around him, God knew the plans He had for Jeremiah and they were good!

             You see we can have all the titles we want - Doctor, Lawyer, Author, Pastor (insert your dream or title(s) here) or all the money/possessions we desire, but if we have not remained obedient to God’s plans for our lives it is all meaningless. We will one day stand before the throne of God and He will not ask us “What title did you carry while on earth?” Rather I believe the more important question will be “What did you do with the plans I had for you? Did you wallow in self pity because life did not go the way you planned or did you allow the earthly success that you did achieve to define you and live on the high of a title rather than on the place I was calling you to? To reach the poor, the orphans, the widows, your neighbors, your family?” May we each be able to say Yes Lord I obeyed!  1 Samuel 15:22 "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD ? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.

Snow? Really, God?

By Maria Johnson, Apple Valley Campus

 As I looked out the window yesterday morning and saw snow on the ground, I thought, “Snow, really, God?”  I have long since moved out the snow gear and made room for all the flip-flops.  I giggled when a friend who moved to Minnesota last year from southern California commented about how much we Minnesotans talk about the weather.  Our Minnesota weather is most definitely a conversation starter.  As I have pondered this winter why we live in this cold state, I tell myself it’s because of all the people I love here, but it’s also because I truly love the change of seasons.  When I think of the seasons in our weather, I think of the seasons in our life.

    We have all experienced various seasons in our life.  Budding times of growth, joys of sunny and easy days, and times when things just simply change.  Most of us have also gone through periods of difficulties that have lasted longer than we wish.  However, it’s in those “winters” of our life when we can learn to draw most intensely on the strength of Jesus.  When we keep our eyes on Christ (Hebrews 12:2, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.”), we are then able to appreciate the incredible joys of “spring” when it comes.  Our heavenly Father is amazing how He shows us glimpses of hope in our tough days just like He allows the sweet, little crocuses to bloom early each spring (even when they get snowed on!).

    Jesus has a plan for each of lives.  He is a God of order which can be clearly seen in His creation.  He will bring it into focus when we continually look to Him for guidance.  He will show us the little blossoms in our life even on our cold, dark days.

    We know these spring snowfalls will melt quickly because we see signs of spring all around us.  However, even if I didn’t see the signs, I want to always see God’s goodness regardless.  I love God’s command in Philippines 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again:  Rejoice!”  He doesn’t tell us to rejoice only when we are doing something we enjoy or the weather is sunny and warm.

    Yes, just as seasons in Minnesota keep things exciting, seasons in our life keep our lives exciting too.  Think of how boring it would be if our weather was 80 and sunny every single day without change?  Okay, maybe we’d like to try it for awhile.  However, our crazy weather makes us tougher to handle extreme cold and move mass qualities of snow.  The change of seasons in our life is how God grows us through multiple challenges.  If we keep looking to Him, He will mold and sharpen us for His glory!  And, remember, God always, always brings spring even after the worst of winters!

    Let’s say it together, “Rejoice in the Lord always”!  (even when it snows!)

God is Love. God Loves You.

By Sally Kasten, Apple Valley Campus

I’m a Catholic girl.  That’s how I was born and raised.  It is a part of me that I will always embrace.  My uncle was a Priest and as I was growing up was asked yearly by him to consider joining the Convent (to no avail, obviously). I owe a lot to my Catholic upbringing.  It taught me reverence for Christ and the church, discipline, perseverance and the importance of handing down a legacy of faith. I wouldn’t change a thing about that season in my life.  In fact, it has been a part of God’s continually unfolding plan and perfect in His eyes and to that I stand in humbled awe of His great love for me. 

I attended the same church, Sacred Heart Catholic church in Elmwood, WI, from birth until I moved away to attend college.  Every Sunday for countless years I read these words that were written above the altar, “God is Love.  God Loves You.”  I’m sad to say that after seeing those same words dozens of times over the course of multiple years I never grasped the “God lesson”.

 You see, not only is God the embodiment of love, but he also has an unrelenting love for YOU!  A love that does not tire or grow weary, a love so powerful that it can only be authored by the very Creator who IS love and simply put, the enormity of His love is a concept that one should strive to grasp.

A basic objective as a follower of Jesus is to become more Christ like, but as our faith develops and matures, you learn quickly that we will always fall short, but God’s LOVE and grace are sufficient to sustain us in our efforts.

All of that said, I’d like to challenge you to look differently at a very common verse about love that has recently gained an enormous amount of consideration in my personal study time;

1 Corinthians 13: 4-7

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres.

If our hearts desire is exude Christ like qualities, replace the word Love with YOUR name:

1 Corinthians 13: 4-7

Sally is patient, Sally is kind. Sally does not envy, Sally does not boast, Sally is not proud. Sally is not rude, Sally is not self-seeking, Sally is not easily angered, Sally keeps no record of wrongs. Sally does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Sally always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

As I venture on this continued journey of faith, my prayer is that you get a hold of how instrumental God’s love is for you and how His love alone is a free gift given to us by His grace.

In closing here is a verse of encouragement in your quest to examine the phrase “God is Love.  God Loves You.”

1 John 4:9-12

By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has beheld God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.