7-7 Day Fourty

My day began where all great days do, in the Word and in Seven Stars. I haven't gotten to say that in a hot minute, and that's because I haven't visited for like four whole days; they probably thought I died! I spent the morning meditating and writing out Psalms 46. 

"He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the chariots with fire. Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress." (v9-11)

Verse 10 especially gives such an excellent reminder of our inadequacy before God. That we are to 'be still,' in one of my Bibles, it's translated to 'stop striving.' Simply seeing the Lord is reason enough to submit to Him and stop opposing. God's triumph is enough and meant to be spread and "exalted among the nations." Man! The Bible is legendary. 

The next thing on the agenda for today was running through our presentation as a team. I'd say for our first time running through our 40-slide PowerPoint, it went really well! Creating the presentation has been so energizing, and I cannot wait to share it with Sacred City. We present to the church on Thursday, showing all that we have learned from the summer, and leave them with a few practical applications and encouragements. The remainder of the day, before Sacred City Summer, was spent doing revisions and hanging out in a coffee shop nearby. I happened to go on a prayer walk in the rain at one point, and that experience was quite amazing, highly recommend. 

Before Sacred City Summer, I got the chance to call one of my roommates, Emilia, during one of her many layovers as she heads out to study abroad for the semester. This was a super sweet time of encouragement to check in with one another and hear about the ways the Lord has been moving in our summers so far. It reminded me of the sermon from Sunday and how we ought to be praying for the people in our lives who do not see. Granted, Emilia is not leaving forever, but regardless, I will be praying for her and her time in Australia, as I'm sure she will be doing for everyone back in Iowa, too. 

Tonight was a huge encouragement yet again in conversations with people about how sovereign the Lord is. Friends and I talked about how nothing we can do will stop God's plan, and apart from Him, we are nothing. One huge takeaway was about living our lives faithfully, regardless if that is on mission, vocational ministry, or in a secular job. There are many big life decisions on my horizon and this is something I want to keep in mind. 

Sacred City Summer talked about 'Corporate Worship,' and it was a good reminder of how worship is presented in the Church through 5 stages: (1) Read the Word (2) Preach the Word (3)Pray the Word (4) Sing the Word, and (5) See the Word (via the Lord's Supper). Worship, as are many things in life, is about our heart posture towards the Lord, than our performance.

Romans 12:1, "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship."