Quitting

I'm quitting most of the things I was doing last semester.

And it's all going to be really different now.

In his article Ten Ways to Live an Extraordinary Life,
Bob Goff explains,

"Every Thursday, I quit something." 

"The idea is . . .  to give yourself room to grow and to give God room to work. The patterns of life can weigh down and hold back. Quitting things forces you forward to explore new opportunities, to try things you wouldn’t have time for otherwise and to fill your life with things that are fresh, different and dangerous." 

A few months ago, my friend Meghan and I talked about quitting something every Thursday, just like him. The first week we were going to stop having unnecessary, dramatic conversations about guys. 

After that, I can't recall. 

Needless to say, we never successfully quit anything.

And our motivation didn't continue past the first couple of days. 

I've been thinking about Bob Goff ever since, though. 

Actually, I received his new book, Love Does, for Christmas,
and it's been challenging me a lot. 

So, between Mr. Goff's
enthusiasm for Jesus and quitting things, 

and God's gentle nudging

and blatant direction,

I've come to the conclusion

that I should quit. 

The every Thursday thing didn't seem to work out too well for me. 

And now, I haven't quite the time to take this in slow motion.

I believe what God is asking me to do is dramatic and life-changing. 

So I'm quitting everything at once. 

Today I sent out emails to four people informing them of my decision 

and how they were going to need to find someone else to fill my role

in that particular organization. 

Last week, I sat down and met with six godly women

and explained to them where my heart was

and where I thought God was directing me.

Between my parent's wisdom and talking to

a handful of other Jesus-loving individuals,

I'm ready to finally let go. 

I'm not going to go into detail to tell you
all of the things I will be

eliminating from my life.

To be completely honest, 

I've not quite determined it all yet.

But it's coming. 

And it will be a process.

Instead, here are some of the reasons 

I am quitting;

to learn to love my classes

to start running again

to get enough sleep

to meet women for coffee

and talk of life and love and God

to keep my scholarship

to personally invest in people's lives

to spend more time loving my roommates

to maintain healthy relationships

to save money

to learn to rest
to surrender to God,
even when it doesn't seem to make sense

to learn more and teach less

to figure out what humility looks like

to join a group fitness class

to fall in love with highschoolers

to drink more hot tea

to really sit down and get to know people

to focus my heart on Jesus Christ

to grow as a person

to see that God can do this without my help

to meet new people

to enjoy the life I'm living

to spend time doing the things I love

to read more books

to watch others succeed as leaders

to figure out how to love more purely

"[Jesus is] asking us, 

Will you take what you think defines you,

leave it behind, 

and let Me define who you are instead?"
--Bob Goff, Love Does

So here's to the semester ahead.

May God be glorified through
all of the crazy decisions I'm making.