Still Under Construction?

By an odd turn of circumstances, we were able to have dinner with our wonderful friends Chad and Brandi last night, and I'm so glad we did!  Brandi and I had some more serious matters to discuss, but we could only manage them in little snippets between talks on religion, babies, and laughing so hard we cried (seriously...Brandi spit out her water and I can't even say anything because I was hysterical).

At some point in the conversation, I mentioned my blog and Chad said something to the effect of "what's the under construction business?  Shouldn't the construction be over by now?!"

It was a comment made in jest, but for some reason it got me thinking.

When does the construction end?  When do you know when you've crossed the invisible plain from spiritually immature to spiritual leader?

The easy answer (and the one I gave Chad) is this: the construction is never really over...and he knew that, of course. :)

The Bible says as believers we are made complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10) when we accept Him into our hearts and receive the Holy Spirit, but we're definitely not perfect.  In Paul's letter to the church at Philippi, he said:

I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me (Philippians 3:12).

We are never perfected until we meet Jesus, but as the Holy Spirit works in us we should constantly be heading in a more Christ-like direction...drawing ever closer to Him as we become more intimately acquainted.

In looking back over the last couple years, I am amazed at the miracles God has performed in my life, and the way He has worked through the Holy Spirit to change my heart...slowly, but surely.  It's astounding that when we become followers of Christ we are given all the Holy Spirit we'll ever get or need...that's it.  I mean, it's not like I have more  Holy Spirit in me now than I did a few years ago. But some of us take SO incredibly long to actually GET IT.

I've been a believer ever since I can remember, and was baptized at 14, but it took me forever to stop seeing God as my boss - a provider of rules and regulations - and to realize He is infinitely more.  I am still in awe of Him.  I still respect Him.

But now I also have a deeper relationship with Him.

I love Him.  I can't wait to spend time with Him.  I can't wait to know Him more.

I think I'm in an in-between stage right now.  I'm more of a leader than I was, but I still feel like I need guidance quite a bit, too.  Maybe that never changes.

For now, the blog will stay "Alissa's Life Under Construction."  Maybe one day it will change.  At some point, perhaps, I'll be a real grown-up and write blogs that actually guide people more than just share my revelations, but for now, this works.



OH!!  And sort of unrelated, but SUPER EXCITING...

I have a really awesome announcement to make tomorrow (Wednesday).  It's SOOOOO hard to wait, but I don't want to mesh blog posts too much.

SEE YOU TOMORROW!