Changing People Serving an Unchanging God

Have you ever noticed how much human beings change over time? It's ridiculous, and more often than the seasons. It's no wonder 'mood rings' are an actual thing. But, besides changing moods every hour or so, we change lifestyles, we change the songs on our favorite playlists, and, some of us, even change our clothes. We change from high school to college and from college to adulthood, and life rarely looks the same that it did 'four years ago' at any point. We're a species and people that love change, so we're constantly changing. 

But we were created by a God who never changes.

How does that work, and why does it often feel like God has and does change sometimes?

Lately, I've been doing a lot of reading in the Old Testament section of the Bible. I've read through Genesis, Exodus and Job, and frankly, it seems like God changes a lot through those three books as I read them, like more so than it seems like He might change from the Old Testament to the New Testament. In just three short books, He goes from walking, talking and conversing with man and creation fairly regularly and communicating to many of His servants to only communicating with one or two men on top of a mountain or inside of a tent behind a vail in order to communicate to His people. Then, He sets up the Law, and it all goes downhill from there. It doesn't seem to take long when reading the Bible to question or notice that God, who is never-changing, seems to change and seem different at different stages and points in Scripture.

God doesn't change. It says that in the Bible several times, namely in the book of Micah when it says, "I am the Lord; I change not." It's pretty point blank; however, sometimes it seems like God has changed over time, and it's easy to think and feel that. Heck, sometimes it seems like He's changed more than me; however, that can't be true because that would go against the very thing that He tells us about Himself: that He's eternal. 

It's easy to read into scripture and question that God has changed. Just like I did above^. However, it's even easier to step back and see that He hasn't. He's always been just, He's always been in control and He's always been full of grace- grace that comes every. single. day. That's unchanging. 

I change my socks, I change my tunes and I change my mood. I'm rarely the same person one morning that I was the morning before, and I rarely treat anyone with the amounts of grace I should, especially daily. I'm changing, but God isn't. Hopefully, I'm changing a little bit each and every day to look a little bit more like my unchanging Creator. 

-Cliff

Cliff's Note: Just because God doesn't change, doesn't mean you shouldn't (socks included). 

Change: The Extrovert in Me

Have you ever gone through a change in life when you're just stuck kind of wondering, "Whoa, when did that happen?"  It might be a  change you notice yourself or a change that someone points out to you, but it's a change none the less. It can be a good thing, a bad thing or just something weird, like being able to finally grow out a full beard (still not me). 

Well, recently I experienced one of those really weird changes that I'm still trying to figure out myself, and honestly, still trying to figure out if it's even a change. So, here it is: I believe I have turned into an extrovert. There. I said it, and I can't believe it.  

For the longest time I've always considered myself to be extremely introverted. Why? Because I'm a pretty shy guy, I've always liked my personal space and I don't do good in large crowds. Now, however, I'm not totally sure that these three 'areas of my life' are where I get my energy from. Lately, it seems like the opposit. It seems like I get most of my energy from stepping out of my comfort zone, being around people and hanging out in large crowds, and I have zero idea when this changed happened. Maybe it's because I lived with 30 people for 10 months; I don't know. I just know that it's a weird change in my life, and I have no idea when it happened. 

I'm wondering how many other random, completely out of context life changes are set to happen in life in the future. Like, is this just a stage? Is it normal? Do other people experience such drastic randomness? Who knows, and who knows if there's truly any such thing as a true introvert or extrovert. Maybe we all have some of both and that's just something I'm just now noticing in myself and in others.  

Life's funny and so are personalities. Embrace change because you never know when it might happen.  

-Cliff

Cliff's Note: Change happens, even if it's grey hair, and it's okay.  

'When It's Always Winter But Never Christmas'

It never fails, Oklahoma weather is confusing no matter the season. Christmas Day felt like a beautiful spring afternoon, and now it's two days after Christmas and, it finally looks and feels like Christmas.

It will probably feel like winter for at least two more months, with a few warm days mixed in here and there, making the cold months drag on. There's just something depressing ​about this. When it's cold outside with nothing to do, it's just kinda sad. The grass and trees lay dormant giving the landscape and 'dead look,' and the nights come super early. Basically, when it's just winter and the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's holidays are over, the cold weather just kind of loses its appeal. 

The things I like about cold weather tend to revolve around the holidays, like most people. I enjoy the Christmas feeling, snow, fireplaces and flannels, but after New Years, I'm just kind of ready for it to be over and ready for spring. ​

Today is a prime example. There's a north wind of 30 mph, it's sleeting and it's 30 degrees outside. Every inch of me is ready for spring, but that's just not how things work; however there is that longing for spring. 

I'm not sure what I would do it I knew in my mind I had zero hope for warm weather ever again. If there was no hope for green grass, blue skies and baseball games, I think I'd go crazy. It's that little ounce of hope that keeps me going and keeps me bearing through the winter season because it is just that, a season. ​

I want to look at life more like this now too. I want to be able to look at it in a way that has hope for new seasons if I'm in the midst ​of a tough one. It won't always be winter, and life won't always be difficult. There are seasons and times for everything, and it's the hope of those new seasons that keeps us all going. 

-Cliff​

Cliff's Note: "It's always winter, but never Christmas." ​

When Your Hometown Doesn't Feel Like Home Anymore

It's funny how your hometown can cease to feel like your hometown after you've been gone from it for a few years. The question, "Where are you from?" becomes a confusing answer because you may be from such and such town, but that town doesn't feel like where you're from anymore. Your hometown just turns into the town you were born in, the town you were raised in or the town where your parents still live.  

The people have changed and aged, your old friends you grew up with and made memories with have moved away and the restraunts have changed, with your old favorites going out of business and new popular chain restraunts taking their place. The street names can seem to be the only similarity. 

Something funny happens when your hometown doesn't feel like home anymore. It turns from being a town you make memories in into a town that's just full of memories made. Driving down the streets turns into a tour of nostalgia accompanied by a sense of not quite belonging anymore. It's strange. 

Your hometown can become a place of the past and an easy place to look back at where mistakes were made and what could have been done differently; however, when your hometown does become this and becomes a place that doesn't feel like home anymore, it can become a place full of measurement of personal growth. It can become a place of looking at who you once were and who you are now. 

Measuring personal growth is important, as it can reveal both positive and negative changes. Going back to where you were born and raised is a great place to do this because it's a place stacked with who you were. It's a place full of old stomping grounds, and around every corner is a memory and thought of who you used to be and how you used to think. It reveals how you've grown and how you once grew and need to grow again, and there's nothing like a reminder from where you came from. 

Although your hometown may change, so will you. Although your hometown may not feel like home anymore, it always will be, and there's always something to learn from home. When you go home, don't just notice the changes in it, notice the changes in you. 

-Cliff

Cliff's Note: When you go home, don't just notice the changes within it, but notice the changes within you.