Philippians 1:3-6

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on until completion until the day of Jesus Christ."

First and foremost, I am sooooo incredibly thankful for all of you who have been put into my life, whether you are Christian or not. Each of you has been such a gift to me, whether as a lesson for me to learn from sin, or as a joyful experience for me to have, each has their own importance that cannot be compared with anyone else. 

This weekend, the world experienced the loss of a wonderful man, Casey Calvert. He was a guitarist in the band Hawthorne Heights, and while I was not exactly friends with him, we were acquaintances, and had many similar close friends. My heart goes out to all of those this loss has affected. 

It is important to let those you care about know that you care about them. I find that I don't let my friends know that enough, and I want to make a better effort to make sure that they know that. In relation to the verse, Paul was living in a jail, torn apart from his church and his people. He was alone and treated poorly, but he found Joy in the connection with his people for their love for Jesus. Even though he was facing pain and death, he found joy in the Holy Spirit. 

Just because people you love don't live near you, or you don't see them everyday, or even speak to them on a regular basis, it is incredibly important to keep them in your prayers and to let them know you care for them. I feel incredibly lonely most of the time, but only because I focus on what is happening immediately around me, rather than stepping back and looking at the larger picture of my life. I have so many wonderful people in my life, and many of them as of late, are christians who I find so much respect and longing for. It has become more and more aware to me, the importance of those Jesus based relationships. I'm so incredibly excited about some of those relationships that have popped up where I didn't imagine. It makes me even more thankful to Jesus, that he is working through me, and changing my heart to help reach my good friends, and bring them closer to Him. 

At the same time, it is hard to realize that I am not alone, and to allow myself to focus on the relationships that I have with people who believe in and love Christ. I had randomly posted in my myspace blog a link to a blog written by one of the ladies at Mars Hill, about the 'Ideal Christian Woman' and a young girl, who I had never even known, came across it, read it, and was spoken to. It was awesome to hear that it had an affect in her life, because I had nothing to do with it. It was Jesus who gave Ms. Alsup [the author], the knowledge to write that blog, and I was merely a vessel to pass it on. 

It makes me want to do more to reach people, but at the same time, I realize that there is nothing that I can do, but rather just have faith in Jesus and trust in His goals for me, and allow Him to use me in whatever way he sees fit. I'm very excited, let me tell you. 

Don't think that I am ignoring my non-christian friends, or that I'm trying to go out and yell at people to repent and meet Jesus. It is not up to me if they find Him or not. Jesus will call people to Him in their own time. Nothing I can say or do will make them believe. I can't even fully explain my own faith or beliefs. But, I do realize, thanks to some advice from a dearly loved friend who is becoming a lead pastor soon!, that I don't have to go out and forcibly evangelize to bring God's word to people, but rather just live my life, with my focus on the Lord, and He will be seen through me to those around me. What a crazy thought! 

I am no where near where I would want to be in my faith, and I never will be, but I am trying. I am so glad to know Jesus and to be a part of his church. 

My overall point is that, even when you feel most alone, Jesus is always there for you to talk to. And if you have a relationship with someone, even if they live all the way on the other side of the world, you are not alone. Reach out to them, and if you share the same faith, your relationship is only that much stronger. Its incredible how the love that Jesus has given us keeps all of his church tied together so tightly.