velvet elvis...

i recently have been reading a really challenging book called Velvet Elvis, by Rob Bell. he is the pastor of mars hill church in michigan. to sum the gist of this book, i give you the word PROBE. probe the words of man, ponder it, study it against what God's WORD says, know it, believe it, live it. i have to say i'm at a point right now where God is so much shaping me and teaching me how to live in the world, yet not be of it. so many times that phrase has been twisted and we end up walking away with this idea we're supposed to be recluses, looking down on everyone and everything that is by man's opinion- ungodly, so we can be set apart, but that's not the point at all...but what does God say about it, about who we are in HIM, where are our pursuits? i'm not really a great writer because i have a lot of thoughts in my head, but i'm not real good at transferring them to "paper", but the further i get into this book, i'll do my best to share my growing pains! we are shaped so often by other people's expectations of us, which can make us critical and miserable. through understanding what God desires me to pursue-which is him entirely, i am finding that i can overcome other's expectations of me, because all i am concerned about is being exactly what it is-who it is God wants me to be.