The Red Sock..(or in my case, the board shorts)

I'm terrible at laundry. Now, before you make any assumptions, my mom always did laundry for me. I remember growing up and even wanting to learn how to do laundry a few times- but every time I asked my mom if I could do my laundry (which wasn't too often, but hey, I'm a teen), she always told me "no, I haven't had time to properly show you yet." 

I went off to college with probably 2 formal "laundry-washing classes". Our machines were pretty simple, and I knew the basics; separate your lights and darks, pour the soap in here, and always make sure the washer has a chance to air dry before closing the door (take notes if this is all new to you). I knew that you had to clean the lint catcher thing on the dryer- in fact, when Lizi and I were little, we used to fight over who got to clean it because the lint was SO soft, and I even knew that certain things just had to be hung up in order to dry correctly. But I'm not sure I ever knew the importance of washing clothes in COLD water. I'm sure my mom  told me, but it was probably one of those things I tuned out (I'm working on that, but that's for another blog). 

This summer, as most of you know, I'm a lifeguard at Discovery Camp. Lifeguards have the coolest uniforms. All day, staff is in orange polos, blue shorts, and Nike Frees - but not lifeguards. For services, we get to wear orange and blues, but the rest of the time we have our own uniform. Lifeguards get to wear cool grey tank tops (so we can get "awesome" racerback tans and show off our "shredded arms"... or lackthereof), bright red board shorts, and flip flops. 

Being new to the world of laundry as I am, I decided to throw all of my stuff in together. I put my clothes in the washer along with my socks and my white undershirts, started my laundry, and went to my room. Sure enough, when I came back, I opened the washer to find a whole lot of pink socks, undershirts, and even a pink towel. At first I didn't even think the stuff was mine- it was like it had been completely changed! But as I stared at the culprit- my bright red board shorts, the frightening truth settled in- I was going to look like a valentine outfit gone wrong for the next few weeks. Dude, it's something about that color red.  

Today is Sunday. My official blogging day. As I talked to Jesus about this blog and what He wanted me to say, He told me this one thing: Bring my people back. 

Sounds cool, right? Except... I had NO idea what He wanted me to tell my readers to come back to. Every single topic I've blogged about has been something Jesus is calling me personally to- and this blog is NO exception. By the prompting of the Holy Spirit, and just straight up confusion, I pulled out my old journals. I figured, if Jesus was trying to call me back to something, a good place to go would be those old Jesus journals. As I started searching, I was led to one specific revelation. It's a revelation that until today I had forgotten about. But today, as Jesus challenges ME to come back, that revelation has become alive in me again. And this time I don't plan on letting it go. Hang tight, because I know I threw you off with that laundry story, but it's going to tie in! (Get it, tie? Cause I'm talking about laundry? LOL okay, I'm sorry, that was awful) 

I started thinking about innocence and purity. I can't think of a time in my life when it was easier then when I was just innocent and pure. And although Jesus has restored those things to me, sometimes human Anna just wishes she could go back to the innocence of a child. So as I pressed in, the Holy Spirit led me to John 19:34. It's a chapter about Jesus' crucifixion, and I know sometimes that topic stings a little, but stick with me. It says, "One of the soliders, however, pierced Jesus' side with a spear, and immediately blood and water poured out." 

It wasn't just the blood; water flowed out too. As I pressed in more, I realized how important that water was. As Christians, we always focus on the bruising of the body and the blood that Jesus shed. But Jesus wanted to take me further. I dug in, and found this passage in John: "... Rivers of living water will flow from His heart. (When he said "living water", he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in Him)..." -John 7:38-39(NLT). That's when it hit me- the living water that flowed from Jesus, the very living water that cleanses us IS THE HOLY SPIRIT- the VERY Spirit that is residing inside of US, inside of YOU, inside of ME! So not only is the Spirit inside of me, but so is it's cleansing power. And that living water not only gives me the authority and power to FORGIVE others, but also to be forgiven and cleansed MYSELF.

As I thanked Jesus for the cleansing power of His living water, He reminded me of the reason why. That water would've never flowed out of Jesus and into us if they hadn't cut Jesus' flesh; it would've never entered us without the blood. The blood was completely necessary and without it, it's impossible for us to be clean. There's something about that color red. We must FIRST accept the blood, we must first deny our flesh, and then we penetrate deep and receive the living water. They had to cut His flesh to penetrate His spirit. Jesus calls us to set aside OUR flesh; all those worldly desires and habits, and in return, his living water consumes us, cleanses us, and completes us. The Holy Spirit comes in and empowers us. But not without the blood. It's something about that color red.

Something about that color red that cleans; something about that color red that brings the water that washes and sets us free. Just like those red board shorts overtook my laundry, the blood and the water overtake us. It makes us into something totally new. I didn't recognize my laundry at first; and maybe people wont recognize us and our new-found innocence at first. But unlike tacky pink socks and undershirts, our new innocence shines bright white, free from any blemish or any past regrets. And just as Jesus challenged me today, I also challenge YOU. Come back to Jesus; come back to innocence. Accept the blood, but don't stop there. Welcome the living water. It poured out of Jesus, and He wants it to pour into YOU. He WANTS you back; He wants you to be radiant again. Jesus wants you to love Him wholeheartedly, and He wants you to never feel condemned by your past again. He wants to cleanse you. 

"When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to Him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" 

Jesus replied, "You don't understand now what I am doing, but someday you will."

"No," Peter protested. "You will never ever wash my feet!"

Jesus replied, "Unless I wash you, you won't belong to me." (John 13:6-8)

It's up to you. Will you let Jesus wash you? It's time to let go of the past and regain your innocence; it's time to come back. 

Do You Even Lift?

We've all seen 'em. They're those people that walk into the gym, hair perfectly secured and styled, sporting the latest Nike Frees and latest designer gym wear. They have more of a fake tan than they have muscles and their gym membership is more of an accessory than it actually is a tool for fitness. They're the ones that hit the tredmill till they break a sweat, take a few selfies, and call it a day. Sometimes they might pick up a 5 pound dumbell, but when it comes down to it they're all show. They haven't built up the stamina or the strength to go the mile or curl anything more than the weight of their Starbucks coffee. They have a gym membership, but when it comes to lifting, they're pretty much useless. 

Now, I'm not hating on cardio. I'm not even hating on Starbuks coffee or fake tans. I actually am a fan of all of them. See, I don't have an issue with any of those things. Where my issue comes up is when it becomes an image that tricks others, and even themselves, into thinking they're fit when the truth is my dog probably has more muscle. 

Those were the people I bagged on. Those were even sometimes the people I resented. They looked so good. When  I leave the gym, my hair is usually going 97 different directions, I'm panting like an old dog, and I probably smell bad enough to kill the flowers surrounding the gym on the way back out to my car...(okay, just kidding about that last part). But it wasn't much longer after bagging on those people that Jesus showed me that I had become one of them. No, not in the gym sense, but in a much more important sense.

Allow me to go where, to my knowledge, nobody has been crazy enough to go yet. Allow me to compare my walk with Christ to a gym membership. Because I have surrendered to Jesus, I have been granted access to the Kingdom (or, in this case, my gym membership has been activated). I go to the gym as often as I please. I praise Jesus and walk in faith until I break a sweat- until it becomes a little uncomfortable, and then I call it a day. Sure, I look good going in and even good coming out. And as far as everyone there is concerned, I put in a little work. But what's the point? What's the point of going to the gym if you're not lifting weights? What's the point of going to the gym if you're not building muscle, growing? See, if I go to the gym every other day for 2 weeks and curl 15lb weights, I can guarantee you that by the next time I go to the gym, I'll have built up enough muscle to start curling 20lb weights. And if I stay consistent with that, the same way I did with the 15's, soon enough I'll be curling 25's, and 45's, and so forth. Your muscles remember what it's like to lift that weight and the more you do it, the easier it becomes to lift heavier weights. 

Well, I'm sure you guessed where I'm going with that. But it's the same way with our walk with God. We are constantly tempted with things, but because we live as "cardio Christians", only raising our heartbeat and working until we break a sweat, we never learn what it's like to lift real weights. And when real temptation comes, when the heavy weights need to be lifted, we don't know how. Our muscles haven't built up enough strength to lift them, and we're left feeling weak and defeated. But that's not what God wants. That's why he sent the Holy Spirit, who in this analogy, acts as our personal trainer. He's constantly there, encouraging us, cheering us on, spotting us. He's advising us when it's time to lift and when it's time to rest. He's reminding us when to take a break to get filled with water (the Living Water, that is), and He's making sure we develop our muscles so that when the heavy things come at us, we've already lifted it. 

That's what it's like every time we respond to temptation. We have the opportunity to either take a gym selfie and bail, or we have the opportunity to start lifting weights. We have the opportunity to start building up muscle and gaining stamina. This is how we get strong against the devil, this is how we rip the authority out of the hands of an already defeated devil. We learn to lift little, and the more we lift the little, the more our strength increases; the more weight we can lift increases. Every time we're tempted, we have the opportunity to pick up a weight. We have the opportunity to lift, even though it might be hard, and keep lifting that weight until it becomes easier. But don't worry, it'll never be too much. The Holy Spirit, your personal trainer, will never let you pick up a weight that you can't lift, that you can't handle. He's training us, guiding us, and teaching us how to become strong. He's developing our muscles through consistency, practice, and repetition. And through that, we gain strength. Soon, the temptations that used to make sweat pour down our backs is making us sigh with relief that that's all we have to lift. Soon, we're looking at temptations we used to freak out at like they're a rubber band and we're looking towards the heavy weights saying "bring it on, I can do all things through Christ." (Phil 4:13)

Even though I said "we" throughout this blog, this blog was definitely for me. I've been battling temptation and giving in, but Jesus is teaching me how to lift. He's showing me that the more I say no to temptation, the more that I lift those weights, the easier it becomes. Every "no" to the devil is a "yes" to the Father, and every rejection of sin is a projection of Jesus. Every time I say no to temptation, every time I offer my obedience as a gift to Jesus, it makes me stronger. So I'm going on with Jesus. I'm lifting the weights that are heavy now, but with confident hope and expectation that my endurance is being built, as well as my strength. Tomorrow, it won't be so hard. Because I'll remember the strength that I had to lift the weights today. 

So, are you in? Let's get spiritually swole. Don't wait, start lifting today.
#gymselfie

"..And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure." -1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT

"If you are faithful in the little things, you will be faithful in the large ones..." -Luke 16:10 NLT

"This High Priest of ours understands our weakness, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin." - Hebrews 4:15 NLT

"For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." -James 1:3-4 NLT

"For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him." -Philippians 2:13 NLT