Ripped Jeans, faded memories and prospects of adventure

How many times have you promised yourself that you would clean out your closet? To rid yourself of the old so that you would have room for the new... and how many of those times have you snuck a few of those pieces back into your closet instead of getting rid of them?
We all have that one article of clothing that has been in our closet for as long as we can remember.... for me, it's an old sweatshirt from College... now granted, the school has since closed and I can no longer buy the sweatshirt anywhere... but I find myself sinking back into it when I have a bad day. Surrounding myself with the familiar.... but it's a good kind of familiar... the smell of laundry, the golden ghetto couch, and the sounds of dorm life.
But what about that old statment familiarity breeds contempt? We allow ourselves to become comfortable in a situation... we hold on to the familiar and comfortable instead of moving forward...
Sure, we can look back on memories, learn from our past mistakes and talk with friends about things we've done that are long since past... but if we stay there... if we hold on to the past... what happens then? We might find ourselves falling back into old habits, putting on our old, ill-fitting and faded rags... our old self creeps back in.
Sometimes, we allow ourselves to get too comfortable.... Let me put it another way...
In The Hobbit, Bilbo is working to wrap his head around the idea of becoming a burglar... and in the film (which takes a number of liberties, I might add, but that's another blog and day altogether) states that he just needs to sit quietly for a moment... Gandalf interrupts that He has been sitting quietly for too long. He is inviting Bilbo on the adventure of a lifetime... and is shocked that Bilbo is hesitant.
Like Bilbo, We grow comfortable in our lives... we cling to the old (we have done this particular thing, this way as long as we can remember) and forget that there are adventures to be had... we fear the unknown and hold to what we know... but we are told in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that in Christ, we are a new creation... the old is gone and the new is here... Embrace the new, let go of the old. God is inviting us out on a great adventure... will we be brave enough to shed the old us and move forward?

Are we on the same page?

Have you ever been a part of a conversation where you are talking about one thing and the person that you are talking to is somewhere else entirely?

You're not on the same page...

I feel like this happens to me more often than I would like to admit... I feel like I'm being pushed one way, when really God is pulling me in the opposite direction.... it's a little awkward. It's like I'm having a one-sided conversation without actually listening to God... I hear what he wants to do, but I'm already thinking about what I want to do.
I have several friends that, with one look, we know what the other is thinking or what they are about to say.... shouldn't we try to be on that same wavelength when it comes to our spiritual lives? Striving and yearning to understand God's heart?
When we are on a different page, we often interpret our own desires as those of God... We put words in His mouth, so to speak... no pun intended...
God works in mysterious ways, His timing is perfect, He has a plan for us... we've all heard these sentiments, and if you're like me... you're thinking, I know all this... but what exactly is he planning, how long is it going to take and am I going to be put in an uncomfortable situation... When we are not on the same page with God, we get out of sync.
Do you remember Milli Vanilli? If you're too young to remember, here's the nut shell version. Singing Duo Milli Vanilli was doing a concert tour... one night, the CD they were lip-syncing to started skipping... it made the news... then they were found out to be frauds. They hadn't been singing at all... ever... They couldn't sing...
In our lives, as Christians, we are told to be geniune... to be real... but how many times do we step out of line with God's will, fail in our daily walk, or just fail. We get out of sync... like Milli Vanilli, the CD starts skipping and we are embarrassed. We are called a fraud... a hypocrite...
We may fail sometimes, and we will... we are human and we aren't perfect... *gasp*
In the midst of our selfishness, our brokenness and our self righteousness, God longs to draw us to him... to show us his perfect love and his perfect plan for our lives... take the time to have an actual conversation with Him... Listen to what he has to say and actually take steps to be on the same page... let God in...