Inspired.

I have told many people in my life that one of the reasons I love Behavioral Psychology so much is because I believe that God created the human intellect and therefore the behavioral studies that Psychology examines are very much consistent with God's word! HOW COOL IS THAT? So many concepts that I learned in my Psychology classes are things also found in the Bible! I believe that is because God created us and knows best how we "work." The Bible existed long before Psychology did... so I am going to use the Bible as the launching pad for discussing some of these Psychological research findings.

I realize that the intellectuals among us may call this confirmation bias, and perhaps this is true. But my blogging is not an effort to convince you that scripture is true (though I hope it may challenge your perspective). I already admit am biased because of my faith. Rather, as an overflow of my own exciting discoveries, I hope to simply share God's word with you and show you how the science of the mind backs up the scriptural text.

For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. Romans 8:19-20

"The church has many organizers, but few
agonizers; many who pay, but few who pray;
many resters, but few wrestlers; many who
are enterprising, but few who are interceding.
People who are not praying are playing.
Two prerequisites of dynamic Christian living
are vision and passion. Both of these are
generated by prayer. The ministry of preaching
is open to a few. The ministry of praying is open
to every child of God. …
Tithes may build the church, but tears will
give it life. That is the difference between the
modern church and the early church. Our
emphasis is on paying, theirs was on praying.
When we have paid, the place is taken. When
they had prayed, the place was shaken (Acts
4:31).
In the matter of effective praying, never have
so many left so much to so few. Brethren, let us
pray."
- Leonard Ravenhill

I love this quote, so I thought I'd share it.

A friend challenged me recently, "Are you completely real in your blog? I'm just asking because sometimes it seems like you struggle more with these thoughts in real life than you seem to in your blog."

I'll admit, she's correct. If I come across as "having it all together" that is FALSE. Most of the thoughts here are wrestled over and incomplete. In truth, my life is extremely MESSY. I do not in anyway, shape, or form have everything figured out and I am still very much in process. I fail at believing these truths I mention on a consistent basis and the constant prayer I come back to is "I believe, help my unbelief (Mark 9:24)!"

Just wanted to lay that out there before we go any further. The good news is, I am blood-bought and grace-taught... over and over again.