Do you see it? What do you see happening?

God is always at work around you.

Do you see it? What do you see happening?

Knowing God only comes through experience as He reveals Himself to you.

"Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him" - John 14:21

So, what kind of Christian are you?
The answer to that question will define how you are currently experiencing God.

Are you a self-centered Christian that is too busy and loving this world in ways that distract you from not only seeing the work of God around you, but you are also too distracted to even know where God is calling you to participate in His work?

Are you a Christian of convenience?
Do you believe in God just enough by talking to God sometimes (mainly when you are wanting something from Him) and you attend church and maybe even serve in some way, to where you don't really feel convicted or challenged because you are really just "going through the motions"? Would you consider yourself a "SEASONAL" Christian?

Are you a Christ-Centered Christian?
Are you all about God? Is your life completely revolving around the will of God? Are you ALL IN? If you are a Christ-centered Christian people probably think you are a little crazy, right? Even your Christian friends!?

"Suffer hardship with [me], as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.  No soldier on service entangleth himself in the affairs of [this] life; that he may please him who enrolled him as a soldier."
- 2 Tim 2:3-4

"But even if ye should suffer for righteousness' sake, blessed [are ye:] and fear not their fear, neither be troubled; but sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord: [being] ready always to give answer to every man that asketh you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, yet with meekness and fear:  having a good conscience; that, wherein ye are spoken against, they may be put to shame who revile your good manner of life in Christ.  For it is better, if the will of God should so will, that ye suffer for well-doing than for evil-doing. - 1 Peter 3:14-17

I can easily say that I am not 100% Christ-centered 100% of the time, but it is something that I am constantly thriving for on a continual basis. In my efforts to say Christ focused I have made some life changes and I continue to look for ways to always be Christ - focused.

The interesting thing about this is: I have not only been looked at as "crazy" by my friends who are non-believers (which can be expected because they just don't comprehend the genuine meaning behind it), but I have definitely been challenged in how my life-changes towards becoming more Christ-focused, by my fellow Christian family! I have to admit that has been unnerving at times.

I will give you a sample of a "time of transformation" that God was definitely challenging me where I was seen as a bit "crazy" by both Christians and non-Christians. Here is how I was experiencing God:
I felt convicted with how easy, as a stay-at-home mom, it was to just kill the time my watching tv. I have always been pretty conservative with what I watch. I hate watching anything that involves "being dark". I don't like watching movies and shows that involve witchcraft, and ones that throw out all moral when it comes to excessive profanity, nudity, and sexuality, etc. So, sure watching tv is not a bad thing, right? I'm not watching anything "bad". Well, what about this idea...how much time have I wasted doing virtually nothing in front of the tv when I could have been spending it with God by studying His word, praying, seeking His guidance by listening to sermons both at church and even online, being fruitful, etc. So...my new lifestyle was exactly this: DO NOTHING unless it gave glory and focused on God in some way. If it didn't do either of these things it was OUT, OUT, OUT! That meant not watching the same tv shows or movies that I was watching, that meant spending more time reading and praying and listening. So, I did just that.

Guess what? Following this new lifestyle challenged and changed me in so many ways! I became closer to God and I learned a lot. I learned a lot about God, not just about Him, but I got to EXPERIENCE Him in ways I never had before. I learned that God doesn't want us to be self-centered, or a convenient Christian. He wants me to be a Christ-centered Christian.

I learned that I need to be a 'WATCHMAN' at ALL times. I need to be prepared and "studied" so that I can be prepared for the things He has written that is to come. I don't want to be a fool and fall for the enemies tricks and plays. So, I need to be on alert and I need to rely on God in EVERYTHING. Seeking Him in everything even the little things that don't seem that important.

I learned that the traditions of this world such as holiday and even church traditions can be foolish and I don't have to abide by them, regardless of how not participating in such things makes me look.
I was constantly asking myself: is what I am doing scriptural, is what I am doing glorifying to God? If the answer was no, then I wasn't going to involve myself in such things.

This lifestyle changed me. It made me see things in a whole different light: In His eyes. Sure, many times it would cause me to burst in tears for something that didn't seem like a big deal and even for what seemed to be no reason at all. My attitude and my life 'lens' changed. It changed me, it changed my marriage, and you better believe it changed how several people saw me. I even had a family member 'unfriend' me on facebook because they could not understand how my facebook status expressed that the closer I was getting to God the sadder I became in many ways. This person argued that it should be the other way around and that I should be happier, not sadder the closer I was to God. I openly agreed with this person, but also explained how it was possible to experience both happiness and saddness equally. Unfortunately, this person just couldn't grasp that and it resulted in 'unfriending' me.

My fellow Christians thought I was being crazy because I was withdrawing myself from "normal" things. I didn't see it that way. I saw it as focusing my time on Godly things and doing things that were fruitful and not wasting valuable time. Think about it... The day you stand before God how would you feel about being negatively judged because you wasted so much time doing fruitless things, like watching tv (specifically things that were not glorifying to God). I think about that a lot. I don't want to be that person.

My fellow non-Christians thought I was being crazy because well...it just didn't make sense. This made a perfect opportunity to share not only my faith, but I got to share about my experience(s) with God! This totally created a curiosity and an opportunity for  questions to be asked and seeds to be planted.

Experiencing God is a beautiful thing, regardless of what anyone thinks. You may be called crazy, you may lose relationships, you might offend, you might cause confusion in others...but in the name of glorifying God, it is so worth it!