Are you "available" to God?

Should I buy a house? I might as well go ahead and buy now since I will be here for a couple more years. I am spending so much on rent right now and at least then I would be putting money into something that is mine. I really want a dog and buying a house will allow for me to have one. Buying a home will make me feel at home here.

These are the thoughts that have been going through my mind the last couple of weeks. I even bought the Idiots Guide to Buying a Home. What is hilarious about that is the fact that I read the first chapter and realized that buying a house was not right for me at this point in my life. I guess the book was just the way in which God pointed out my irrational thoughts that were going through my head. But this was not the only point of clarity for me in this house buying decision. I had a discussion with a woman a few weeks ago who had just purchased a house with her husband. I told her about my thoughts of buying a house and we discussed a few things. Then she commented that maybe buying a house wasn't the best option because what if I met a guy and was stuck here in Colorado with a house? Well of course I shrugged that off because even if I did meet a guy I was independent enough that I wouldn't just follow him anywhere. What about my passion and my career? Yes these thoughts are very "Miss Independent".

The conversation with the woman didn't discourage me at all from pursuing my option of buying a house. But during this time I started re-reading "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" by Joshua Harris. I read it a couple years ago and thought I would pick it up again. If you are single or even if you are in a relationship, I highly recommend this read. Basically Harris points out how society has changed the way that we as Christians date. It is probably very radical to some but to others it reminds us of what relationships are supposed to look like regardless of what society deems acceptable. My favorite part of the book is when he talks about singleness. He describes singleness by stating that:

God gives us singleness - a season of our lives unmatched in its boundless opportunities for growth, learning, and service - and we view it as a chance to get bogged down in finding and keeping boyfriends and girlfriends (p. 44). 

Until you realize God's gift of your singleness, you'll probably miss out on the incredible opportunities it holds (p. 51).

As a single you have the freedom right now to explore, study, and tackle the world. No other time in your life will offer these chances (p. 51).

If you are thinking that since it is near Valentine's day and this post is about the tragedy of being single you are mistaken. All of these thoughts, the house, the comment from the woman, and this concept by Harris all came together for me. The woman's comment meant so much more than I took it to mean. To me now, it didn't have anything to do with a potential boyfriend. It is about the fact that if I bought a house here in Colorado would I be available to God? This time in my life, being single and unattached is a time in my life when God will use me when He might not be able to use others who are attached. To me her statement now translated to, well what if God was calling you to go across the country? What is God called you to pick up everything and spread His name? These are the thoughts now that go through my mind. I am not in a place right now to get bogged down with a house. God will be using me and I want to be available to Him. It is so comforting now to know that this decision to buy a house is squashed. Not for financial reasons, lack of time, or not finding the perfect home. It is confidently squashed because of my faith that God has some amazing things in store for me and I want to be as available to Him as I can be. It is such an amazing feeling! 

So my question to you is.....Are YOU available to God?

This week's RTD adventure

I told myself after the first couple times that I tried to drive in the yucky, and might I add, dangerous Colorado weather that I would start riding the bus to work for my safety and more importantly so that my level of anxiety will stay at a normal level. Well as all of you know, the weather has been pretty miserable across the country, hence my new experience with RTD. I have to admit riding the bus to and from work has been the most humbling experience for me. Being from a small town my whole life, riding a bus was not even an option. Now that it is practically outside my doorstep (well not exactly, I have to walk down 3 flights of stairs and about 1/2 a mile to the nearest bus stop, but hey, let's admit I could use the exercise these days) it just makes sense to ride the bus.

There are so many great things about riding the bus to work. For example, I don't have to park all the way out in Lot 6 anymore! The bus stop is right next to the Student Center so it's a fairly easy walk. Today I started to read on my way to and from work (it's only about 10 minutes but it's nice to read a little something here and there). It is great for the environment and for my debit card! And honestly it makes me feel good. It sounds weird but I think it is something that I never thought I would do. In just a week's time of riding the bus, I have realized how much I take for granted having a car and having money to invest in gas, insurance, check-ups, etc. It has made me take a step back and really appreciate something that others dream of having so they drive themselves to work.

There are so many great things about the bus system here in Denver but I did experience a couple of moments this week that almost made me reconsider taking the bus. First of all, learning when the bus arrives and departs takes more time than one thinks. I have such a flexible schedule at work so sometimes I never know until the day of what time I will make it in or what time I will be leaving (no griping here, just a statement!). It takes a little time and coordination to get to and from work. Well on Tuesday night I was getting ready to head home from work and got caught up talking to a few people and work and literally missed the bus by 30 secs. So I decided I would just wait by the stop for the next one thinking it would be there in about 15 min. I didn't mention that this was the day that the low was -15 and the wind chills were close to -24. I kept waiting and waiting and eventually thought I was literally going to freeze to death so I headed back in to make sure that I saved my toes (seriously you can get frost bite within 30 mins in that weather). It turns out that I had waited outside in that weather for about 25min. Luckily I called a friend from work who works in Residence Life and she took me home after about 30 minutes of defrosting her car and scraping off ice.

Overall though, the RTD experience this week has been a great one. I am definitely considering making it my main mode of transportation to and from work (yucky weather or not). I will be riding the bus tomorrow since it practically snowed all day today and it looks like next week will be the same. Looks like 3 more days of snow next week! This Texas girl has learned how to still function in this Colorado weather (unlike my friends and family who got 3 or 4 days off this week). Lucky!