That Which is Better

I long to be with my Creator.
That simple statement is what I wish to define my life.
I want to desire Him to the extent that I commune with Him every second of every day.
I want to desire His word above anything else.
I want to desire prayer more than any trivial conversation I can have with people of this Earth.
Some days my longing to be with Him is so strong that it rises up from my core.
Some days I cry out to Him in prayer asking why He left me here, why I can't be in Heaven NOW.

Recently I was reading in Paul's letter to the Philippians and it said this:
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.


As Christians, we all need to be desiring home.
But at the same time, God has placed us here at this particular time for a specific reason.
I know I am here until He calls me home to make the best of my time.
I need to be here for the people that I will impact, and I need to do my best to make the impact that God wants me to.

Re-Branding

I have been dissatisfied with the name of my blog for quite some time now.
When I first felt the shift happening from a focus on what I DID while I was in college to the things that I felt God speaking to me and those around me, I began to feel like "The College Life" as no longer an adequate title.
I mulled over a couple different options, and, in an attempt to be witty or poetic or something, I settled on "Amalgamated Epoch," meaning something along the lines of "a mixed amount of time".
I thought I was cool for about the duration of an hour or so.
Then I realized how stupid that sounded.
Bringing me back to square one.
What is this blog about?
Me?
Not really.
It's more about God and the things He does in my life.
It struck me the other night what I should call this blog.
Nothing Is Real
It is a concept that I have been mulling over for over a year now.
The idea that as a Christian, I need to make Heaven, and the concept of bring Heaven to Earth, so real, so solidified in my mind that everything else around me does not seem quite so real anymore.
And that's my true desire for this project.
To get people looking forwards to Heaven.

A Different Me

Why is it that we act differently around different friends?
Or rather, why is it that when I am around friends who I have not been around a lot, I feel as though I have to act like the Paige I used to be and not the Paige I am now?
I have grown in so many different aspects over the last year or so, but I feel as if when I go around my friends that I do not have to opportunity of seeing as often as I would like, I have to revert to who I was when I left for college. What am I afraid of?
I know that those who truly loved me for who I was will still love me no matter what I become, and yet I fear that they will reject me now.
It's funny... I'm so much more confident in who I am, as if I am finally starting to come into more of the fullness of who I truly am; accepting that it's okay to let who I really am out. I think the people who have watch me grow though my college experiences thus-far can see this in me. And yet, I am not confident in myself whatsoever when confronted with friends that I don't see as much.
I guess it's just something that God is going to have to help me grow through.

Continuing to Redefine Beauty

Funny that right after I did my week without makeup, I find an article about a club at a Texas high school that does the same thing!
Thought I should share.

http://www.stylelist.com/2010/10/08/texas-high-schoolers-makeup-free-redefining-beautiful-club/

Continue to stand strong, and keep redefining beauty.

Over Worked... Under Appreciated

Something that I've been noticing more in life is how it is often the little things that we do, or don't do, that make the biggest impact on the lives of those around us.

One of these things is simply letting those we love know how much we appreciate them.

It's so simple, yet so few of us truly let those we love know how much they mean to us. 

How often do you hear someone talk about a family member who died and they talk about how they regret never letting their loved one know how much they truly appreciated everything they did for them? Far too many for sure. 

And how many hurts have been caused because people do not feel appreciated? How many people have killed themselves thinking that no one noticed the work they did?

Whether you realize it or not, people are pouring out wisdom, love, time, and money from themselves to cause you to become a better person, a better Christ-follower. 

God pointed this out to me recently, and I've taken it to heart. How many of my friends, family, professors know how completely grateful I am to have them in my life? I feel as though I never fully express the depth of my gratitude to people.

One small step that I've been doing is simply stating it. Three simple words. 

I appreciate you.

I let people know when I'm thankful for their time spent with me, their input in my life, and I don't do it perfectly, but I'm growing, and I'd like to see you try to also. 

After all, I really do appreciate you!

Respite

I had the chance this weekend to get away. Something I haven't had the opportunity to do in a long time. Or even if I had the chance to get away, the time was filled with meaningless adventures that did nothing more for me than abscond with my time and leave me weary.
This time it was different. I experienced a time of refilling, a restoring of my peace and joy. I feel more wholly Paige than I did when I left Friday afternoon.
My family and I headed down to a cottage on Keuka lake, time there given to us as a blessing from friends of the family. The hills surrounding the lake were in full autumn colours, something more beautiful than I can describe to you in mere words or pictures. It was a place filled with God's peace, and I was simply able to rest. It was something I needed more than I even realized.
I left my laptop at school. I shut my cell phone off the minute I left campus. There was no tv. I barely used my ipod. To some people, this would sound torturous, but I could think of nothing better this weekend. After everything I have been through, especially in the past week or so, it was wonderful to disconnect from life. Or rather what we as modern day human call life.
I reconnect with the true life. God. And now, I feel ready to get back to the wear of school. I have the strength to continue on, to fight the good fight.

Hope