In the Spirit

Today was a really great day. I woke up at a relatively decent time and had a pretty relaxing morning. Then I got down to business and started cleaning out my room and throwing stuff away. I'm moving out of my apartment next week, so I'm trying to get a bit of a head start. So far so good...I've thrown away a couple bags of trash and I have the whole top shelf of my closet cleared off! :) After a while of cleaning, I had a second interview on Skype with one of the GAP program directors in Dublin. It was a bit (okay, a lot) more intense than the last interview, as the questions were way more in-depth, but it went well. I guess I'm a little bit more nervous now for how the year will go. Judging by the questions, I can tell I'm going to be in for a lot of stretching and personal boundary-pushing. But I know that will be a good thing. I need to get out of this comfy rut I'm in.

After my interview I hung around the apartment and watched Moulin Rouge with Lina. Well, I watched the movie, she took a nap. :) It's a weird movie, to say the least, but I really love the music. That's about all I watch it for. Oh...and Ewan McGregor. ;) Jennifer came over a bit later and went to UCO with me, so that was fun. This was the last prayer meeting of the semester, and it was awesome. Seriously, the Holy Spirit was so present and alive in us tonight. Claire gave a really great talk about what it means to truly abide in the Lord and just be in His presence. She talked about wreckless abandon for the Lord and what that looks like...basically abandoning our will and living His. I can definitely apply that to my fears about my GAP year next year. Who cares what I think or what's comfortable to me? I need to do what the Lord wants for me. Claire also said this, which was inspiring to me: "If I don't follow the Lord's will for my life, I'm the one that's losing." I liked that. Thanks Claire for your wisdom!

The worship time after Claire's talk was phenomenal. There was lots of singing in the Spirit, which is one of my favorite parts of the worship times at UCO. If you're not familiar with singing in the Spirit, it's basically singing out an inspired song from the Lord. It can be a Bible verse that you sing, or maybe just some words from or to the Lord. It's really beautiful though...when you have a whole room full of people just singing out inspired songs and they all blend together. I really feel so much joy and peace when I'm singing in the Spirit. Tonight I wrote down some of what I felt the Lord was placing on my heart, and I want to share it with you.

"O Lord, You make me sing for joy,
You make me dance in Your presence.
I will lift Your name up,
I will give You all the glory due Your name.
You are the king of my heart
and the joy of my life.
You set my spirit on fire
You set my life ablaze for You.
Come and be the Lord of all my plans.
Take me and make me more like You."

Towards the end of the worship time, someone prayed out something along the lines of "Look forward to what the Lord has for you--cast out all fears." I really heard that as a direct confirmation from the Lord that fear is natural before I go on my GAP year. There will be challenges and hard times. But He wants me to look forward to what He has planned for me. He wants me to face my trials with boldness and courage, and He will help me through them.

Lord thank You for being so present at UCO tonight! I really enjoyed praising You with my brothers and sisters. You are so worthy of all of our time and all of our praise. Help me to continue praising You and seeking Your will for my life this summer. I want my life to truly be on fire for You. Amen.