Fill in the blanks

When did I start seeing ________ as commonplace and stop seeing ________ as a holy place?
When did I start seeing breathing as commonplace and stop seeing today as a holy place?
When did I start seeing daily chores as commonplace and stop seeing this minute as a holy place?
When did I start seeing laughter as commonplace and stop seeing this moment as a holy place?
When did I start seeing mom and dad walking in through the door as commonplace and stop seeing today as a holy place?

His house

I'm so excited about a treasure I found right after writing the post below, "Oh, how I long to feel accomplished!" Check it out, it's 2 Corinthians 5:1
"For we know that if the earthly house of our tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens."
It makes me think of the reality of earthly things vanishing away. All worldly things will lose their value, will be destroyed. And what if the house I devote my life to build is made with such materials, the kind that are dissolved? It's meaningless, like the Wise one from Ecclesiastes cries out.
And I love the verse before that one.
"While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18 I think that sums it up.
But I can't help but go back to the first verse I quoted. The house, it's a building from God, not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens.
Yes, isn't it all a work of His grace? We'll get to Heaven not cause we deserve it, but because Jesus paid for it. God will reward all we did for Him, yet isn't it He who "works in us to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose?" Philippians 2:13 And yet we get to call His House, Home. What's a greater thrill than that?

"And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." Pslams 23:6

Oh, how I long to feel accomplished!

Oh, how I long to feel accomplished! The question is where.
There are times when I look at other's lives and I say "Theirs is so full of achievement, going and doing and accomplishing." And I can't help but think that if they're doing so much then what do I have to show for it. "On top of it all, they get excelent grades in school."
What do I have to show for my life? It isn't a hectic schedule. Sometimes I feel it is, but not until I see all the extracurricular activities people in my school do. Why do I feel inferior? I'm happy with what I've chosen. I rather put my heart into my studies so that I make the most of the time I have to learn (which is amazing!). I've chosen to grow in my walk with Jesus more intentionally, and spend time with my family, who I won't be living close to forever. On top of it, I know Jesus is helping me to grow in helping others. And if I'm too busy building a CV at the cost of these things, then what do I want the "accomplished life" for?
The earthly standards to judge a life are as important as dust, cause that's what we are and where we will go. Yet living for Jesus and caring for what God cares about...that lasts forever.
And in Heaven, God won't ask me how well did the world think I did, during any period of my life. He'll see how much love I gave, how much I obeyed Him, how much I lived to bring Him glory and not myself.
I may want to feel very accomplished here on Earth, yet I gotta choose... between being accomplished here or in Heaven.
Frankly, I believe Heaven is a far better option.
"Wise choice," says the still small voice.

Grace today

I love writing about what Jesus is doing in my life. I just feel I ought to, for my own sake and the sake of my memory and treasuring what He's doing. I feel that writing about it is part of honoring what He's doing. Maybe that's why so many people that know Him keep journals. There's something far too special and rare about living your life with the God of the Universe to take the things that come, the epiphanies, the ideas, the mental pictures, lightly. I think there's a new revelation of Jesus waiting for me in every day. His endlessness brings me joy! Just the thought of it, cause I can always go back for more.
Yesterday was a wonderful day and the reason to remember it more poignantly is because Jesus showed me a misconception I've held on to too tightly in my life. And He just exposed it and blasted it away with His word! I love how He does the work so that I can "be transformed by the renewing of my mind." (Romans 12:2) I just gotta let Him!

Concerning the Torrents of Worries about Tomorrow
I absolutely loved the time I've spent here. "I don't wanna leave this place without feeling totally alive and taking every bit of it back with me." The trip will end in a week. I'm already thinking about it.
"It's not a bad thing for you to want that, Steph, but it's not an accurate depiction of reality", God says.
"Oh gosh, am I crazy?", I think.
"You want your batteries charged and you want that to last you next year or at least the next couple of months."
"Well, such happy days ought to multiply my joy elsewhere too!", I feel like I'm clutching something.
"I give you your daily bread every day, day by day." I know I've been trying to save food like an ant for the winter.
"Bread in this case represents grace for life's burdens, trails", He goes on to explain. "Grace to fight, grace to win, grace to lose, grace to give, grace to be."
"And guess what?", He adds. "You have it today, and you don't have to worry about tomorrow, I'll take care of that."
Isn't it so easy to want to have grace for all of our lives all at once? It'd bring such peace, I wrongly reason. Wrongly because what I need each day is relationship with Jesus, and if I had all that bread in the pantry I wouldn't go to Jesus. I'd lie to myself and believe the lie about my sufficiency. After all, I can live from what's in the pantry. I'd totally forget my complete need of Him (the Person) and die inside. Whereas if I let Him, as He wants, hand me the grace for the day each morning, each moment, I'll have sweet communion with Him. I'll hang out and be with the Person of God and that will be enough.
I love the fact that God has already placed the grace to fight, to win, to lose, to give, to be in every day. All the elements to overcome are in each day. So that is why worrying about tomorrow is futile in the greatest of ways. Through worrying I'm hoping to find a better solution to a possible problem, except that solution to the problem I'll actually encounter, will be solved that day with God's grace for the day! I'm not God. Yet I'm His adopted daughter.
So when worries come, cause they do, I'll hold them out to God, the Creator and Giver of daily Grace and tell Him, "This is not for me to worry about, You'll supply the grace, the tools for any difficulties that could come up. I ask you now to take these fears and tie them to the bottom of the sea and help me to live today like your trusting daughter who lives to know you better every day."
I love what God told me, "As you turn to me for wisdom on how to live today, you'll worry less and less about tomorrow." That's the way I want and need to live. When? Today.