I love the word extraordinary.  To me, it holds so much promise.  It seems to encompass so much.  And I love that it's two words mashed together. That just brings it over the top. 

The word extraordinary always brings up a picture of stars.  

Something seemingly ordinary that we see every night without fail, but something so much better then ordinary. Something extra better. :D 

Right now I'm in the middle of a book that has me super convicted.   "Anything" by Jennie Allen will rock. your. world.  No joke.  She and her husband prayed their 'anything' prayer to God one night.  Giving him control is what we're commanded to do, but always find so hard.  To them, it was keeping their relationship with God from going to the next level.  
So one night they knelt beside their bed and prayed simply, "God, we will do anything for you.  Please show us what that looks like for our family." Simple, and yet mind-blowingly life-changing. 
Their anything meant asking God one night if He wanted them to give up their house.  The next day they asked if it meant giving up the security of their family and moving to Africa.  While God said "no, not yet" to these things, there were other sacrifices that were made.  Smaller ones but just as important.   Saying anything is no picnic.   Anything, by definition, means 'no matter what'.  Complete surrender. 
When they asked 'anything?' about adoption, God nodded.  That was the path He wanted them to pursue.  So they did! 

To me, that is extraordinary.  They were willing to listen to God, and He has blessed them because of it.  They didn't pack up their bags and move to Africa.  They didn't sell all their possessions to the poor.  Their 'anything' is still a process, and that's okay! It will always be a process for us, all the way until heaven.
 For Jennie, another one of her 'anythings' was writing this book.  For the longest time she held back because she was afraid of what people would think.  But because of God's overwhelming grace and love she had the courage to give God her anything in the form of a book, and then two bible studies. 

Reading this book, journaling, and conversations with friends have all combined into quite a bit of thought.  Mainly, about heaven.  That's one of my favorite things to imagine, not gonna lie.  A place built of gold, with the literal light of Jesus penetrating every corner and shining so brightly you have tears in your eyes from its beauty.  The word that comes to mind is stunning.  Definitely, definitely, stunning. 

I was getting my hair cut today, and afterwards while I sat and waited for my mom to pick me up I did quite a bit of people-watching.  One of the ladies that came into the salon was short, with a head of frizzy white hair and a brown knobby cane to help her walk.  Apparently she comes in every Wednesday for an appointment. But what really shocked me was her age.  She was 96!  She drove on her own, hobbled in, had her appointment, and then drove away.  No nursing homes for her, goodness.
A man sitting next to me heard her age and was shocked as well.  "I'd be lucky to live to that age!" were his words.  I dutifully nodded in agreement- and then stopped.  Part of me does want that.  Part of me wants to be the person who can still be doing things when she's 90 (and still look just as fabulous as 80!).  I want to stay behind because I was born in this world.  To me, it's my home.  But the funny thing is, it really isn't.  And that's so hard for me to wrap my mind around.  But then there's that part of me that gets the better of my first part and says "I want to be in heaven with Jesus right now!  I want to see his face! I want to talk to him and ask him all my questions!"

Who knows what our lives look like.  I could die tomorrow.  I could live until I'm 98.  Either way, I'm going to be accountable for the way I spent my time.  Either way, I have a choice.  Do I live a life of pleasure and gain?  Or do I live an extraordinary challenging 'anything' life?
When we live to give God our anything, in the end he will give us EVERYTHING.   I'm heading off to Worldview Academy this Sunday, and I'm so thrilled to see what God will do through me and through the lives of others as we strive to live out 'anything'. 

Thank you for listening to my ramblings, brownie points to you for reading them all. ;D

-chloe