[Taken from the Message, Isaiah 58:9-12]
If you get rid of unfair practices,
quit blaming victims,
quit gossiping about other people's sins,
If you are generous with the hungry
and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,
Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness,
your shadowed lives will be bathed sunlight.
I will always show you where to go.
I'll give you a full life in the emptiest places---
firm muscles, strong bones.
You'll be like a well-watered garden,
a gurgling spring that never runs dry.
You'll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew,
rebuild the foundations from out of your past.
You'll be known as those who can fix anything,
restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate,
make the community livable again.

I like the promise in these verses that God will always show us where to go. I have definately seen Him lead me thus far in my life and it's so awesome to know that He will never stop guiding me. Often we come to crossroads in our lives where we must step out onto new territory, a new chapter, the next step. But God wants to lead us and not only that, but give us a full life. Which means to have life to the highest or greatest degree. We were not meant to lead mediocre lives. Think of Jesus. Think of Paul. Think of those well known Bible stories you've been taught. They did not lead mediocre lives. They were lights in the darkness. They had to step out and follow where God led them. And they built. They restored, rebuilt, and renovated. Perhaps you're familiar with some of these shows which transform houses that are mediocre or less and turn them into these beautiful, livable homes. The work is tremendous, and certainly no walk in the park. The overseer of the "flip" or changes needs to have a firm goal of what he or she wants and needs to know how far they are willing to go in order to make it happen. They need to count the cost before they begin to decide if it is worth the investment. We are also asked to count the cost of what it means to live for Christ.

I thank God that He gives me life and life to the fullest. Even though I may look at the exterior and think that my life seems rather void at times. It has been an adjustment going from everyday hustle and bustle in Ecuador to some less bustling days in VA. But I am just daily reminded that God intends to give me life to the fullest and that may require that I look further than my own ideas for my life, that it may require stepping out and it may require going beyond mediocre. I want to glow in the darkness and bring life...the fullness of life that God offers...to the community.