vanilla.

I've been thinking about vanilla ice cream a lot lately.

Okay so when you think about vanilla ice cream, it is really the best type of ice cream to use when your going to make an amazing sundae. That is because vanilla is the perfect neutral flavor to enhance any topping you choose to put on it...it could be strawberries, oreos, caramel, apple pie...whatever! But there is nothing complicated about vanilla ice cream to take away from the delicious amazingness of whatever topping you choose to put on it.

In my relationship with God, I want to be like vanilla ice cream. Just as whatever topping that goes into a sundae with vanilla ice cream is glorified, I want God to be glorified through me. I want to be the vanilla ice cream so God can be the topping. When I think about simplicty, I think about something that is uncomplicated or not too confusing. Really, when you want to pick the perfect back drop for any kind of topping, you just wouldn't pick something like rocky road...there is just too much stuff going on there already. It gets things kinda complicated, right?! If we truly look with open eyes, we will see this happening all over the body of Christ, I definitely know that I see it in myself. I get so lost trying to figure things out or do things in my own strength that I totally make a discombobulated mess out of what God has already made so perfect. It is evident in our man made efforts, rules, traditions and institutions. We're trying to hand God a tub of Chunky Monkey and saying, "Hey look what I have, look what I can do, isn't this a great idea?!?!" when He just wants us to be His vanilla ice cream, ready to handle whatever topping He wants to pour down over us!

And the fact is that when we all stand before God, we are as simple as it gets, there isn't anything that He doesn't know or understand about us. But recently there has been something just screaming inside of me like never before for simplicity and humility in who I am so that what truly flows out of my life is not what comes from me, but what comes from the Holy Spirit.

I am not saying that our lives shouldn't be bold for Christ, that our lives shouldn't show a difference or that we shouldn't stand for the Kingdom of God, because that is all super important. But, it should be God standing out and being glorified through us, and this can only happen when we lay ourselves down to let Christ live through us. It can only happen if we are willing to be the vanilla ice cream for God's sundae! Mmmm...perfect in every way!