Take it all

I've been thinking a lot lately about my shortcomings. And by a lot, I mean every day, and by lately, I mean all semester. I was thrown into the position of director for my campus TV station's newscast, despite having no experience. I was also made the production manager for the radio and TV station. It's been a busy semester, needless to say.

Going from being a girl with a radio show to a girl who was in charge of actual stuff was a rough transition. But if there's one thing I learned from all of that, it's that God's grace is sufficient for me. 

But this semester has been rough on other fronts as well. With media and academics, I could kind of keep my head above water. A little extra effort, some lost sleep, and I could get most things done. It's the stuff inside of me that I can't deal with. The emotions, the inner person. Those are the shortcomings that I so conveniently ignore. The shortcomings that I can never, ever escape.

But if there's one thing I learned in church this week, it's that God's strength is made perfect in my weakness.

In 2 Corinthians 12:9, Paul writes "But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

So I'm going to do that. I'm going to boast that:

I'm tired. But God gives rest.
I'm selfish. But God softens the hard heart.
I'm easily angered. But God helps me forgive.
I'm emotionally unstable. But God gives peace of mind.
I'm lazy. But God gives me a reason to serve Him.
I'm bitter. But God restores my lost joy.
I'm weak. But God makes me strong.

Because it's not my rest. It's His.
It's not my tender heart. It's His.
On my own, I can't forgive. Through His forgiveness, I can forgive anything.
It's not a peace that I can manufacture. It's a peace that only He can bestow.
I don't serve Him out of my own desires. He changes my heart so I want to serve.
It's not a joy that I can ever know. Unless it's a joy rooted in Him.
It's not my strength. I have none. It comes from Him.


"For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
(2 Corinthians 12:10)

Stop changing...

I’m so thankful God is in control. I found out today that my major was getting tweaked. Again. Last time this happened, it went from Radio and Television Broadcasting to Journalism and Mass Communication with a concentration in Electronic Media. This time, the concentrations disappeared. It doesn't seem like that big of a change on paper, but in the day to day lives of the students, it will be a change. It’s really complicated to explain via blog, so just take my word for it: it’s not the best thing ever.

But I learned something through this change: God doesn’t. He’s the same. Always. Regardless of my shortcomings and faults and failures, God is the same every time. And I don’t cling to that enough. Even though majors and people and process change, God doesn't.  He can’t. God is always the same, the one constant thing in a reality of fluctuation. And that is something that I can always count on.

First post is the worst post

I've been contemplating starting a blog for about... 2 years. But I've stayed as far away from the blogosphere as possible because everyone else had a blog and I'm a hipster and mainstream is lame. But since being mainstream is the new not mainstream, I figured now was a good time to start. Also, I have a boat load of homework I should be doing. But just because I'm procrastinating doesn't mean that I don't have something to say.

My name is Maria Ervin and I am a junior Radio and Television Broadcasting major at Bob Jones University. Ok, not really. RTV doesn't exist anymore, and I'm technically a sophomore, but those are both stories for a later time.

The purpose behind this blog is twofold:

1. share my RTV experiences with the world (aka: the 3 people who accidentally find this blog and my mom)
2. and to share the gospel of Jesus Christ through the one form of social media I've yet to dabble in.

Now, I'm not promising a deep, theological post every week. Although that occasionally will happen, super deep stuff is pretty much lost on me. I can promise posts about what God is showing me through my Bible classes, church and personal devos. So, hopefully stuff that you can understand.

When I'm not talking about a spiritual lesson I'm learning, I'll be talking about the absolutely retarded stuff my fellow majors and I do. Like that time we went to the mall, late nights in the TV studio, and Nerf gun wars through the radio station. 

But for the most part, expect a combination of the two. We're pretty much a family that shares similar theological beliefs, so most of my "Christian" posts will stem out of my experiences with them. I hope I haven't bored you with the 305 word post and counting, but if I have, question: why are you still reading this? 

Answer: you are also a procrastinating college student.