Seasons

Have you ever felt like there is a season in your life that is on its way, but you have no idea what that is?

My best fall photo.

Growing up in Virginia I loved the seasons! Every season is completely different. you knew when it started getting hot out that it was almost time for school to get out for summer, but my favorite was knowing that school was about to start because of how tall the corn had gotten.  The two seasons I loved the most we don't have here in South Georgia, Fall and Winter. The change into Fall is my absolute favorite time of year! You wake up one morning and a crispness hits your face and you know the leaves are about to change and it will be sweater weather soon!

I miss the leaves changing colors and the crunchy sound under your feet, but most of all I miss the change. You knew a change was coming. You knew things would not stay hot forever. A cool change was coming.

In the season of life that my husband and I are in we are feeling that a cool change is coming, but the hard part is not knowing when or how. We are in an uneasy part of life almost like "waiting for the other shoe to drop" or will this be the cool change? This is not a fun feeling at all, but this is where we are right now. Where does God want us? What does God want us to do? I keep reminding other people of Paul's words to the church at Philippi about being anxious. Funny thing, I am being anxious! Sometimes we think God is talking through us when in actuality He is talking directly to us!

Phil 4:6-7

With the change in seasons comes some amazing things! I hope your change this season is a happy one!

WoW really?!

OKay So I haven't blogged in months... Well, that's a lie. I have blogged just not posted them for your enjoyment!

Life has been so crazy, I resigned my church and now live in NOLA. I never would have thought I would live in Louisiana or even be going to Seminary right now... My life is pretty normal, Friends, Class, Studying... It should probably be in a different order, because I spend a lot of time in class and a lot studying! My roommate has moved out not because we didn't like living together, but because she found basically a free house to live in! So, now I live in a 4 bedroom apt by myself! I actually really like it!

One thing that is hard right now is finding a church... I've been to church with friends and haven't really felt like whole heartedly "this is the church for me." UGH! Why doesn't NewSpring have a New Orleans Campus?! haha! But Sunday is coming and it will be a new day and a new church!

I'm looking for a job and have interviewed twice with a Cheer gym for a coaches position! I am praying that if it's God's will that I get it! I love cheerleading and coaching and the fact that it is a Christian gym just adds icing to the cake! Man, I hope it happens and I get a chance to mix my passion for leading teenage girls to Christ and my passion for Cheerleading together!

I have been able to babysit a couple of times and it is just wonderful! I get to spend time with kids and play! Plus, I can be a blessing for parents here on campus that can't find a babysitter or one that their kids like! lol!

Funny kawinkadink, 2 of my best friends at home were Kristy and April... Well, here my 2 best friends are Christie and April! Ha! At least I didn't have to learn new names!

Where does Your devotion lie?

God has really been rocking my world with 1 Cor 7. Some of you know my obsession with 7:17 in the Message, but the whole chapter is full of Godly goodness! So what does it talk about, you ask?! Try staying single and being devoted to God, if you can that is! But seriously, 7: 35 says,

I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.

I have found while this month in Seminary that TOO many people are focusing on what I would consider the wrong things. (Some of you are going to laugh thinking that is coming from me, but God is really convicting me.) We are focusing on in a Christian realm would be a worldly thing! WTCrap are we thinking and doing?!

• Marriage and finding the one (UGH! It's driving me NUTS!!! I've even stopped watching "Say Yes to the Dress" that's how much it's bothering me!)

• Theology and NOT reaching people

• Making yourself look good and NOT God

• Their church

• THE SAINTS (okay, I LOVE football and this is SUCH a big deal in NOLA, but we are tending to talk about them and NOT Jesus)

So those are just things I can think of right now, but seriously there are way more I know it! I guess it just kills me that people aren't trying to find a way to reach our city. Now, I am one who is super focused on my studies and very rarely leave campus because of it... Which is a big reason I'm hoping for this cheer job! But the Marriage complaint above is really getting to me... like so much! I hate people asking me "well, have you found anyone there yet?" Okay, really?! Why am I here?! I thought I was here to learn and to grow! hmmm apparently I'm here to find a mate?! Who knew! I wish God had sent me that memo! haha! Okay, so only certain people will get that, but it's true!

Hopefully I will Update again soon!

Renewed

So I was really struggling Spiritually for about a month... I didn't tell anyone and really thought that no one could tell. The Ironic thing is that the person who could tell the most was my old roomie Kim. She called me out all the way from Asheville, NC! haha! Well, about 2 weeks ago maybe 3 I started the book Soul School by Jeanne Stevens. I can not tell you how much this book has truly blessed my life and has renewed me. I am preaching next Sunday night and this book has inspired much of what I am going to speak on. From Christians trying to hide their sins from each other to focusing on the past instead of the present. Jeanne put Isaiah 43:19 out of the message translation into a chapter. It says,

Forget about what's happened;
don't keep going over old history.
Be alert, be present. I'm about to do something brand-new.
It's bursting out! Don't you see it?

Man that is good stuff! How many of us focus on what we did in our pasts or even wanting to go back to a certain time in our life when we feel like things are getting tough. INSTEAD we need to be alert and present because God is gonna ROCK our faces off if we are just expectant about it! I see this in our churches. We want to go back to the hay days but we forget that our hay days were some of the toughest times in our lives. We just remember how we felt after God brought us through those things. In the book Pop Goes The Church, by Tim Stevens, a question is posed... What would your community look like if your church was gone? Would people notice? and by people the author is not talking about the church goers and their friends but the people who do not attend and drive by on a daily basis. I know for Round Oak that all we do feeding people and helping them get by in tough times and on Wednesdays nights when the van runs to the trailer park to pick up the kids that those people would notice... they would notice that that help is no longer there. I just hope that we are seen as a light in this community and not just a social club!
So yeah that's what God has been teaching me lately!


Another Subject entirely is how much I love Dorothy Thomas... She is a pillar in our church and is the oldest member at like 98 or something like that... Today while playing Secretary she called to see if tomorrow during homecoming work day if someone would clean a plaque that was placed in memory of her husband... she said that in 26 years no one has probably cleaned it, but she was just hoping that someone could get around to it... That makes me want to go clean it right now! She never wants to inconvenience someone but is so sweet and loves her Jesus so much people just want to help her!

Relationship

Okay so my last blog was a bit of a rant... it took me weeks to finally get all of that out of me because of my mixed emotions on certain things... God is teaching me that even though I am a youth pastor that cannot consume all of my life. Since February my job has consumed me. It's all I talk about, think about, pray about, and even dream about. Through the last couple of months I have called the emotions and such as girlie junk and dismissed them. As of two weeks ago I finally let go of not wanting a relationship. I am very independent and don't want to loose that, but feel like God is gonna do something real big in my life in that section of my life soon. I'm not one to fall for someone really quick and I'm not saying that I have fallen for someone, but I love talking to him and we never run out of things to say. Funny, a month ago I wouldn't have even thought of this as an option in the dating life of Arielle... Who knows where this will go... It's all up to God! I love saying that and really believing it! I'm just waiting on one more thing to happen and if it does I'm SOLD lol! But only God and I know that one! hahaha! I'm such a girl, but I think I'm okay with it!

UGH

Life as a youth pastor can be a funny thing. (THIS IS MORE OF A RANT/BLOG ABOUT BEING A GIRL THAN MINISTRY) I mean I'm glad my kids care about me and all, but they got me all confused when it came to a friendship that I have... Just because he is MALE! Oh man! The fact that I am a girl and get frustrated when I think about relationships and how I haven't had one in 4 years and such kills me and then they go and throw this junk in the mix is NUTS. I'm not one to just date to date. I want it to be something that both parties have prayed about and know this is what God wants us to do. Throughout the years I have become very independant and I don't even know if I could handle a relationship right now. I guess I shouldn't second guess God! I have asked God just to show me through regular stuff like asking me out and such (since this seems to be a hard thing for guys these days) to show me who he has for me. So who knows where God is leading me in this aspect of my life, but I'm OPEN!