Resident Assistance is a Go

So, It's almost dinner time and I need to eat (as do you I'm sure), but I just wanted to write and ask for your thoughts and prayers. I have a major test in Counseling Theories tomorrow at 8 am, immediately followed by my group interview for becoming a Resident Assistant. If you don't already know, a resident assistant is basically a student who helps keep order in the dorms and provides a place of support for students to talk.

To get you in the mindset I am in, here is a section from my R.A. Application. An answer to the question, "What has God been teaching you lately?"

a. Saying, “I love You too” instead of “I love You” to God.

I first heard this in the “God’s unfailing love” session of Beth Moore’s “Breaking Free” Bible study series. In the video, Beth Moore pointed out that God is always the initiator; we are always the responders. There is not a single time in our lives when we’ve said to God, “I love you” where He has not already just said it to us. With this in mind, Beth Moore encouraged me to always say, “I love you too” in order to remind myself that God has always loved me first and is constantly showing me how much He cares for me. (1 John. 4:19. 1 John 3:1. Rom. 5:8. Psalm 86:15)

b. Give God ALL of your love first. Then, give others the only love you have left: The love God gives you.

God’s commandment concerning love is summed up well in Matthew 22:37-39, which says, “And He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” When I recently studied 1 John, I was challenged by the truth of what it really meant to love God and to love others. The command to “love one another” has its origin in the nature of God. The truth is that to Eros (physical/selfish love) is human; to Agape (unconditional, selfless love) is God. To say I love you with all of my heart is a weak statement because, on my own, I have not love. But, with God, love dwells in my whole being because God is love. I am continuously trying to practice really loving the Lord with all my heart, soul and mind. If I do that, what love have I left to love others? Only what God gives me: Unconditional, perfect love.

c. Be faithful in the process; leave the results up to God.

This is a lesson I’m grappling with right now, especially as I consider summer job opportunities, financial strains, and family relationship situations. I am the kind of person who wants to know the plan: I want to know where my next step should be. God has been showing me that I need to trust Him and live a “flashlight” life, not a “headlight” life, letting His word be a lamp to my feet (Ps. 119:105). God has given me enough information to be faithful through the process of decision-making, obedience, and ministry. I can read my Bible, cultivate my prayer-life, reach out to others (both my current friends and new acquaintances), and strive to find a local church body to be part of. While I remain faithful in these few things and others, I remind myself to leave the results up to God. I keep telling myself the story of Noah and the ark: Even though Noah knew the ground was dry by sending out the dove, he didn’t go out until God told him to. What a great reminder! Even though I may have an idea about what God wants me to do next, I should still wait on His guidance to make the first move.

d. There is a sense in which God intellectually knows all things, but He’s constantly experiencing new things.

I first heard this at the Sabbath retreat on Nov. 12 of this year (2010). This was an incredibly big thought for me because I’ve never attributed the word “new” to any aspect of God before. Thinking about this gives me an understanding as to why God continues to pursue a relationship with humanity, and with me. I am still pondering what this statement means for my life and walk with Christ, but