Mac 'n' Cheese

Don't ask me about the title, it's just what Kenzie suggested. 

I guess I should preface this story by letting y'all know I have a "job."  One night a week, I'm a hostess at Louie's, a restaurant/bar on Henderson here in Dallas.  It's owned by an awesome Greek family and it was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives so it tends to be a pretty busy place.  Here's the link in case you're curious:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtO7j9FJd0E

Basically last night the entire staff (who are all really close with each other) found out I am going to be a Marine officer so that was the banter of the night.  I was reading The Art of War and one of the bartenders asked what class I had to read it for. No class, just for me.

At the end of the night, Louie and I were sitting at the bar chit-chattin' and he just said, "Man you are full of surprises."

Am I really?  I guess I never really understand it when people say that to me.  Maybe it's because I'm not from around here, so people aren't so used to my type.  And while I may be "full of surprises," God has really put a word on my mind lately: consistency.

There are a couple different definitions for consistency:

1) "Steadfast adherence to the same principles, course, form, etc."
2) "Agreement, harmony, or compatibility, especially correspondence or uniformity among the parts of a complex thing." 

Who knew, 1 Corinthians 15:58 says, "Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."

Being consistent in our actions can be incredibly hard, especially since we're surrounded by so many things that point us in the wrong direction.  But here's something that makes being consistent so much easier: our "labor is not in vain."  We're not acting for our own good, but for the glory of God and we're all in it together.  What's even better is we're not simply acting, we're abounding.  To me, that looks like being full in Christ to the point where his amazing love pours out to others through our actions.  How awesome is that? 

This aligns with my last blog, but things get so much easier when we stop trying to live to impress others or to benefit ourselves.  One word in the definition for consistency really gets me: "harmony."  We can't be consistent all on our own...believe me, I've tried and failed.  Miserably. 

Just like at OCS, things just work better when you try not to do it all on your own.  I wouldn't be anywhere without my friends and I feel like my relationship with Christ is one that requires that harmony.  There are plenty of times when I know I really want something and Christ is trying to tell me "No," but I just keep on ignoring.  When I finally get over myself and me and God work in harmony, great things happen.  There are a lot of different types of people in the world and trying to please every single one is exhausting.  Sincere love, though, is something everyone can appreciate.  Consistent in love?  Bring it on.