Seek the things that are above

Keeping our eyes fixed on Him transforms our lives. As we continue to grow into His knowledge and truth, we grow more into the identity of who we are in Christ. As we abide in Him, the more we, and the rest of this world, realize how we are not of this world. With the joy of the Lord, placing our hope and trust in Him alone, we are able to rejoice through the good times and the bad because we know that God is able to work out all things for His glory.

Through this *rad "Lifespan Psychology" class that I'm taking online, I've actually found a lot of things that reflect the truth of our flesh. Recently, I've been more aware of the internal battle between my flesh and the Spirit within me. One of the lastest lectures in my class discussed different mindsets. The two described were a fixed and a growth mindset.
*Note sarcasim

Check this out:

Fixed Mindset:
-Avoid challenge
-Get defensive or give up easily
-See efforts as fruitless or worse- a sign of failure
-Ignore useful negative feedback/constructive criticism
-Feel threatened by success of others

On the contrary...

Growth Mindset:
-Embrace challenges
-Persist in the face of setbacks
-See effort at the path to mastery
-Learn from criticism
-Find lessons and inspiration in the success of others

I'm blow away with these set descriptions or characteristics of each mindset. The correlation between the fixed mindset to our flesh and the correlation between the growth mindset to our spirit is ridiculous. In reading the fixed mindset descriptions, it reminded me of my character flaws and the path of life lived when we choose to ignore the fullness of life that Christ has extended to us. When I read the descriptions of the growth mindset, I was challenged. So often, I found myself having the fixed mindset descriptions evident in my life rather than those that display a growth mindset.

I'm challenged by this because it gives me a different perspective in observing life living in my flesh versus living in His Spirit. I want to grow fully into the identity that God intends for me. Hoping that when I stand before the throne of God in heaven or when I look to Jesus Christ, I have been made whole, being made complete in Him, knowing that He who began a good work in me has indeed completed it by the day of Jesus Christ.  1 Corinthians 13:12, "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face."

I want to embrace and endure hardships, giving Him all the glory. I want to have perservance despite any setbacks. I want to fix my eyes on Christ, knowing that He is the way, the truth, and the life. I want to be able to receive reprove and rebuke with a humble heart. I want to grow with the body of Christ and my heart to be stirred, finding lessons and inspirations in others' testamonies of God's goodness. Psalms 112:7-8 "He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD. His heart is steady; he will not be afraid..."

I desire more in life. Only He can satisfy.

There's Joy in Unity

Today I went to RE Bennett and experienced something close to what I would describe the best day of my life (hmmm, well...). I went to go play with my 7-9 year old friends during one of the recesses for the second and third graders. It was simply epic. EPIC.


After asking a group of kids, including three girls and two boys, if we could play "Follow the Leader" and receiving approval, something awesome began to happen. As soon as we started, kids were joining us and soon enough, we had at least ten kids that were excited to be playing this game. It was at this point that I shared with the kids my dream for this Thursday afternoon recess. "Oh my, you guys, can you imagine if we had everyone playing with us?!! It'd be a dream come true!" All of the kids just stood there...contemplating the idea. Maybe they even began to dream it too...


As we continued to play, more and more kids would join us. We were quite the scene. The duties (playground supervisors) didn't know what to think. Eventually, there were easily over thirty kids that were playing "Follow the Leader."


Sure, not all the kids were playing, but with the large group of kids that were playing, they made my day. I can't share how much I love unity. If only I could play a video of the thirty-minutes that I spent at the school today. I don't think I'll ever forget the overflowing amount of joy that I was exposed to, let alone feeling, in that quick bit of time.


There's joy in unity. That game of "Follow the Leader" was only a small glimpse of the overflowing joy that comes when the body of Christ is in unity, following their Saviour, Jesus Christ.