Another attempt to destroy my vision

Whew... today my engine set sail on this latest notion that came from an older gentleman today. I was shocked at what he said and how he said it.

Here's how the conversation went:
"So, you're leaving?"
"Yep! headed to Va beach to finish my degree"
very questionably, as if he were talking to a young, naive girl, "uhh. why Virginia Beach?"
"The Lord led me to Regent University, sir."
"Oh. right. What is your focus?"
"My major is Professional Communication. With my HACC credits I should be considered a sophomore when I transfer."
"What does that entail?"
"Its focus is geared towards raising leaders to communicate effectively through professional avenues. It basically prepares students for work in the professional atmosphere like PR, for example. i'm very excited!"
(rolling his eyes in a discusted state) "haha. another one of those schools that's gonna quote"change the world".."
"well, yeah! in fact, that's Regent's mission statement."
"HA! these schools think that they can make one person change the world and make it a quote 'a better place'. they're cynical" (shakes his head and walks away)

After tilting my head sideways and squinting my eyes as I watched his back while he walked away, I sat there puzzled. Wow. No wonder our world is suffering. All of the division, murder, immorality, strife, bitterness, it isn't enough. We have to bury those with misaligned, wrong and bitter attitudes - ones that serve only to discourage, defeat and disarm the faith of every believer out there. You know, 'Where's Waldo' isn't the well-known game anymore - I'm playing the never ending game of 'Where's all the optimistic people?'

Can we please make any room for the optimists to prosper in their inspired vision?

Gosh, there's nothin' like being around a pessimistic, hopeless person. It's only after you realize they're just as you were before Jesus was able to fill you completely with His Spirit of life that you can see them through a different lense. If you're anything like me, it takes a minute or two for that part to completely register and the first minute of "reaction" in your head goes a little something like this, "you're kidding me, right? did you just stomp on the greatest vision of redemption for all mankind through "changing the world"? more than that, one that Jesus Himself appointed for me most recently at Regent University, and for you if you would WAKE UP!"
(Harsh, I know. My mind totally processes conversations this way sometimes. There's a more gentle answer... and thankfully I accepted the rejection without saying what was in my mind... it all just took a few minutes to process... I'm working on that!)

C'mon, mister. You've gotta start somewhere. And somewhere starts with some body. And some body starts from some One.
THIS is why I am attending Regent University! To engage in the learning methods of changing the world through ONE man, Jesus Christ.

What a clever attempt at blowing out the one candle that you are burning! None the less, coming from a man in his early 70's who could be setting a prominent example for a young woman like myself. I guess the legacy around here is to 'choke 'em a little bit with your pessimism and knock down yet another boisterous student who wants nothing more than to prove to the world that IT NEEDS JESUS!

What's tragic is that constantly listening to someone like that has the capability to blow out that one candle that keeps burning inside of you. That kind of attitude can suffocate a person of purpose! I don't know about you, but I refuse to constantly listen to people who dishearten the vision God has called me to join. It's destructive in the Kingdom and I won't allow it to penetrate my soul.

After conversations like these, I become so thankful for spiritual family. I'm thankful to have friends who love God as much as I do - ones who can understand these worldy frusterations and stand up to the challenge of making a difference. I'm thankful to now be at Regent and in an atomosphere where I can be encouraged and challenged for growth in the Lord - where my inspired dreams to change the world through Christian leadership are supported, raised up to the Father, and moreso acknowledged by an army of warriors on fire for the living God!

(I'm experiencing a lot of these responses from people lately... any one think the enemy KNOWS God has a bright future planned for me?!)

GOD IS FAITHFUL TO THE FAITHFUL!

I sit here amazed. Ugh-MAZED.

How can the God of all the earth be SO good to me?

One of the dishes on my plate in regards to moving to VA is the fact that I'd be breaking my current condo lease (I just moved in here this January). If another tenant wasn't lined up by the time I leave on 7/31, I'd be responsible for the full rent each month until the landlord found someone. Not to mention, this particular condo was advertised for rent for three months before I found it; landlord said he had a terrible time trying to rent it. Not a pleasant thought for a woman breaking the lease.

The Lord knew my concern. I reminded Him quite often of my remaining faithful to His will despite the "appearance" of the entire transition. Nothing about moving to VA was in plain view for me to see, but I KNEW Regent was His will for me and since it was, I believed He wouldn't leave me hanging with loose ends when I went.
So, I didn't fret about it. I didn't cry about it. I simply told Him I knew this was His will for my life and I was trusting Him to have someone lined up to take the place.
Meanwhile, people surrounding me were becoming worried that I'd be "stuck" with paying rent for a place I won't be living in. I couldn't understand that. How can someone else be worried about the Lord not fulfilling His promises to me? What they didn't understand is that I knew all along my hands didn't belong on the steering wheel, so I didn't go there.
Not a single fiber in my being was concerned about someone NOT renting my place-it was only a matter of time. I knew my God and I knew his faithfulness.

I get a phone call today from the landlord, who tells me he found a nice couple who are willing to move in 8/1! He cleared their credit and 775 now belongs to them!

Didn't I tell you God is faithful!!!!!!! You can't tell me He doesn't listen to our earnest pleas and concerns! Don't tell me He doesn't have a plan lined up for our lives! All it requires is that we humbly seek His face and desire His will above our own... who knew it could be so simple?

For the first time, like ever, I'm speechless!

My Speeding Ticket

Soooo... after driving seven hours from va beach home I reach the wonderful town of... home. I was completely exhausted and all I wanted to do was get home and sleep. Work the next day was going to be a NIGHTMARE because I missed the first day of the month, which is filled with new reports to do. But, I realized I forgot to call my aunt back so when I was in town I called her while I was driving. Big mistake.

I was less than a mile from home and was still in interstate driving mode (doing 70-75 the entire way home). I finally hit the rural area of my neighborhood, a road that I rarely drive on, and totally forgot the speed limit drops to 25... I was clocked doing 50 in a 25.As I gulped down the warm diet coke that I had almost finished from my Mickey D stop I said to my mom "aaahhh, you're KIDDING me, right??????? well, it's okay, I'm sure I'll get a warning."Uh, no. Try a $167 speeding ticket instead.

I figured the cop didn't want to hear my sap story about how my foot was still intuitively glued to the gas pedal, so I shut my mouth, took the citation and said "thanks, officer." Then, tired, emotional me wept a few tears on my way home, remained discouraged over the fact that I would have to pull from my college savings to pay this and it wasn't until five minutes ago I started to see the "bright" side of things, since there's always one to every situation.

God whispered, "Kellie, you have your health. You have a house. You have food. You have family. You have a job. You have A FUTURE. It's not necessary to be worrysome about a ticket. Take the lesson, pay it and move on." I was reminded of the parable Jesus references in regards to paying taxes. "Give to Ceasar what is Ceasars." The moral of this story is, I screwed up and I have a consequence. I can either choose to dwell on it and cause my body stress, or I can accept that I acted like a fool, pay my dues and move on. It all comes down to a choice. It's THAT simple.

As usual, it took me some time to hear from Him, only because I shut Him out of some things, mostly "the small things", thinking they're not important enough to include Him in. Boy is THAT wrong thinking! I realized, UGH-GEN, when I include the Lord in EVERY situation and circumstance I'm able to see His way out and it's ALWAYS better than mine.

OMG! As I was finishing the last sentence on here I heard a doorbell. Marcy came to my room and said "dude the cops are after you!!!" (hahaha i can laugh about it now cause its funny) i'as like "what?!" sure enough, a cop was at my door... he told me to call the officer who pulled me over. Something was wrong on the citation. He said it could be in or out of my favor.I called and was told my citation was $30 more than it should have been because I was doing a 50 in a 35 instead of a 25. WOAH! Thanks Lord!!!! $30 is $30 I can now use to fill up my tank that I was concerned about! haha the Lord is SO good!!!! He is a God of MERCY! I learned my lesson and He STILL remained faithful to provide for my needs! This is what happens when you include Him in EVERYTHING! :)