Get Serious.

Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves. You lust for what you don't have and are willing to kill to get it. You want what isn't yours and will risk violence to get your hands on it.

You wouldn't think of just asking God for it, would you? And why not? Because you know you'd be asking for what you have no right to. You're spoiled children, each wanting your own way.

You're cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way. And do you suppose God doesn't care? The proverb has it that "he's a fiercely jealous lover." And what he gives in love is far better than anything else you'll find. It's common knowledge that "God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble."

So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he'll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it's the only way you'll get on your feet.

Don't bad-mouth each other, friends. It's God's Word, his Message, his Royal Rule, that takes a beating in that kind of talk. You're supposed to be honoring the Message, not writing graffiti all over it. God is in charge of deciding human destiny. Who do you think you are to meddle in the destiny of others?

James 4:1-12 (from The Message Bible) :-P

It's kinda funny to read in comparison to what other versions say... but it does get right down to the point.

"Yell a loud no to the devil and watch him scamper" instead of "resist the devil and he will flee from you" haha

.psalm139.

O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.

You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.

You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,

even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"

even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!

Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you.

If only you would slay the wicked, O God!
Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!

They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name.

Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD,
and abhor those who rise up against you?

I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

grateful for memorizing this in 1st grade. it all comes back.

oh yes.

we ran down the highway today.

a testimony of truth

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

.1timothy1:12-17.

...genesis 1-2:2...

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night."

And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. God called the expanse "sky."

And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear."

And it was so.

God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas."

And God saw that it was good.

Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds."

And it was so.

The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.

And God saw that it was good.

And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.


And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth."

And it was so.

God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness.

And God saw that it was good.

And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.





And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky."


So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind.

And God saw that it was good.


God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth."


And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.



And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds:
livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind."

And it was so.

God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds.

And God saw that it was good.






Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the bi rds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.

God blessed them and said to them,
"Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food."

And it was so.

God saw all that he had made,

and it was very good.

And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.

And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

you have now entered...... the twilight zone...

de do de do de do de do de do de do de do de do






otherwise known as my bedroom.
::shrieks::

*points from na*

*we fight for faith not to get God 100% for us, but because he already is 100% for us!



**Why do we want to be forgiven?**
*If Jesus is just a ticket to heaven, he is not honored.

* "I don't want to go to hell... hot!!" -piper :)



**Regressive sanctification**

*if you don't keep swimming against the current, you'll be pulled backwards.



*Psalm 42*

*We are in an unending conversation with ourselves -- this conversation has the most influence on our soul than anything else in every day life.

*talk to yourself. don't listen to yourself.

*god has not forgotten the psalmist. the psalmist has forgotten god.

*speak to your soul with the promises of god.

*talk to god - god is pleased when we come to him with his promises. he is eager to fulfill them. go to the throne and say, "do as you promised".



*Galatians 4:1-7*

*god's purpose did not conclude with redemption. it culminated into adoption.

*"to be right with God is great, but to be loved and cared for by God the Father is greater."

* am i more aware of justifying grace than of adopting grace?

*"the greatest sorrow and burden and unkindness you can do to the Father is to not believe that he loves you"

* I know that christ loves me because i love him. and there is no way that love was put there without him first loving me.



** Unless Your grace had called me
And taught my darkened mind
The world would have enthralled me
To Your glories I’d be blind
My heart knows none above You
For Your rich grace I thirst
I know that if I love You
You must have loved me first

Jesus, You have saved me
And taken all my sin, all my sins away
Jesus, You have called me
Before the world began, to glorify Your name**

jeremiah 15.16

Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts.


--God's work meets us right where we are.

--the bible is not a book of all that we need to do for God, but rather a story of all that God has done for us.



-- may the bible not just be lifeless words on a page, but words from the heavenly father to meet us.

.love.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

I Corinthians 13

classic.

i'm learning...

not to expect things that may seem important to me.

It's fun to be involved in a lot of things... but sometimes you just have to stop because your body cannot go any further.
This afternoon/evening was a nice break - even tho i was supposed to be studying for a test - it was quite relaxing. Tomorrow morning its back to the grind of life.

:)

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Phil 4:13

the neverending competition to be cool

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." ~Ephesians 4:29


Back in high school I realized something.

I realized one day that much of what everyone said was a competition in trying to make yourself feel better while putting someone else down. Everyone would be talking - could be about anything - and teasing each other and stuff and I found so often that someone would put down another person, probably with something small, but the only intent of putting the other person down to make other people laugh at themselves or think they are better, or to just feel cool about themselves. The only reason for doing this was building yourself up - at the expense of someone else. Why make someone else feel stupid just so you can get a laugh from others around at how much cooler you are than the other person? Well... in the end, this only makes the first person look self centered.

I decided back in high school that I did not want to tear others down in order to make myself feel better. Of course sometimes that tendency slips back out again, however I don't want to be self focused in my speech. After seeing friends doing it to other friends, or to myself, I have both seen and felt the effects of blowing someone off and I don't want to be the person causing another person any pain. I want to be a person who is others focused, and building others up in my speech. God calls us to not let any unwholesome talk out of our mouths, but rather only what is building up to others. Our speech should be beneficial to those listening, not words that tear them down and hurt them. This can be done in the littlest things, so small we may not even realize it. All it does however is hurt other people, and make ourselves feel cool (for like, a second) and usually pretty shallow as well.

Anyway... that was my thought over the past few days.

my daily prayer...

It was Your grace that drew me to the cross
It was Your grace that gave me faith
It was Your grace that reconciled me to Yourself
Though I had sinned in every way
You disarmed me of everything that I would lean on
So I would lean on You
And You stripped me of everything I would depend on
So I’d depend on You

In You alone my strength is found
In You alone my hope abounds
In You alone my strength is found
My life is bound up in You

And in my weakness give me still more grace
Grace to cast myself on You
In every trial let me find Your peace and joy
And grace to humbly walk with You
O disarm me of everything that I would lean on
So I will lean on You
Jesus, strip me of everything I would depend on
So I’ll depend on You

Give me more grace
Give me more grace
And new mercies every morning
Give me new mercies

we live in a backwards world

Why when a public figure like President Clinton, or the more recent Governor Spitzer have extramarital affairs, or engage in prostitution, the country is shocked and wants them to resign, etc... when every day normal people are doing the same exact thing, and destroying families, yet it is overlooked completely? Yes, they live public lives, while normal people do not. But the fact is, both are still destroying families, and the normal people get away with having affairs, while the public figures have to face what they did and apologize to everyone. yeah... just a thought.

Life in the fast lane

So I'm off work today... which is very nice. I never really get a day off unless I have something else to do. But today I couldn't go in because of a training class being held in the office.

I realized lately how busy my life is. Who would have thought life would be so busy when I'm only taking 2 classes. My life right now consists of going to work - as much as possible, which usually ends up to be between 20-30 hours a week depending on whats going on. I def need to be getting more hours in, just money-wise though. There really isn't a whole lot to do (but don't tell Joe that). :-P

On Monday and Wednesday nights I have classes. I'm taking Intro to Special Ed - which is interesting, except kinda boring. The prof is funny, but his lectures are a bit too dramatic. When he talks he turns it all into a dramatic story, and its kinda annoying. But either way, we are learning some interesting stuff - we just started working on disorders that students have. My other class is the one I need for my major - Spanish 201. I love the people in this class, we have fun, but the teacher is extreme. She talks very loudly and doesn't really teach - just has us repeat words without explaining what they mean. But we still have fun, I just don't really feel ready for that class.

Outside of school and work I have found myself to be pretty busy as well. I pick Aidan up from daycare 3 days a week, and either take her home or babysit her for awhile before taking her home. She is so sweet, I love watching her. I also just started helping Charity get the puppet team back up and running at church. This is pretty exciting to get this going again and think about what we're going to do.

I'm also applying to schools right now to try and figure out where I want to transfer to next fall. I've applied to a bunch of schools, but I don't know which one I'd like to pick. So far I've been accepted to all that I've completely applied to. There are two I haven't sent everything in to yet. I'm hoping the school I'm supposed to go to will be made very clear to me, as I don't particularly have a preference, but I would like to go to one that isn't extremely expensive, possibly close by, although I would love to go away and live in a dorm. But it will all be made clear eventually.

My caregroup also keeps me busy. I love my caregroup so much, they are my closest friends (along with Ashley), and we have so much fun together. This weekend we're having a square dance for the whole singles ministry. It should be fun, probably kind of awkward though.

Anyway, life is good. I'm busy, I have friends who care for me no matter what, and I'm looking ahead to the future with excitement. Hopefully I'll be posting on here more often.

In the words of one of my favorite authors....

Take the time to read this, its so encouraging.

I named this blog after this section of "Beside Still Waters" by Charles Spurgeon

My dear believer, you must totally trust the Lord in everything and concerning everything. "Trust in Him at all times." Trust in the shadow of his winds. Trust in the light of his countenance.

Some have only learned to trust the smile of His face, but they must also learn to trust the blows of His fist. God brings us to that! "No," you say, "I can never come to that." But surely you can! Did not one of old say, "Though he slay me, yet I will trust Him" (Job 13:15)? This is precisely what we mean.

God's children undergo a variety of experiences. Today your heart is a place of sacrifice, tomorrow a battlefield. In turn, your soul is a temple and a threshing floor. But whatever your ups and downs, you will never be removed from your ordained and appointed place. By the grace of God, you are where you are and where you shall be. You will never be effectually removed from the Lord. Infinite love holds you.

Since you trusted in the Lord there have been times when you felt that you did not receive the expected support and comfort. And yet it came. Will you now leave Him and look elsewhere? God forbid! At the very worst, our gospel is better than the world at its best. I would rather drink the dregs of Christ's wine vat, when the berries are sour, than swallow the sweetest wine of the vintage of unbelief. Believe the gospel, whether or not it yields immediate comfort. We would sooner be God's dogs than the devil's darlings.

"The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace." (Num 6:26)

A Promise of Future Grace

Piper writes, "The biblical role of past grace - especially the cross - is to guarantee the certainty of future grace: 'He who did not spare his won son but gave him up for us all [past grace], will he not also freely give us all things with him [future grace]?' (Romans 8:32). Trusting in future grace is the enabling strength of our obedience. The more we trust in future grace, the more we give God the opportunity in our lives to show the glory of his inexhaustible grace. So take a promise of future grace and do some radical act of obedience on it. God will be mightily honored." (A Godward Life)

Defining the Gospel

At our last caregroup meeting, we were asked to define the gospel in our own words, and also in less than 25 words. So we started writing, it was hard to fit in 25 words or less! I actually wrote a couple of versions, trying to get it just right. That is impossible, but I tried. :-P Afterwards, we read ours to the group, and everyone's were really good. It was really impacting to hear people's different takes on one major event. There is so much to be said, yet certain aspects can stand out to different people. Here are my two versions (after I just wrote down the gospel song haha):

1. (This one is basically the gospel song in my own words :-P )
Holy God became lowly man to die a gruesome death, declaring me, a sinner, righteous so I could live forever with Him.

2. God became man to save his children who turned against him, to declare them righteous in his eyes so they can live in heaven forever.


Writing out the simple truth can be a huge reminder of such a great act of mercy.

The story of my life the past few months

Over the past few months God's providence has been so evident in the life of my family.

Back over the summer my parents found a house in West Virginia, it was nice, great location and an amazing low price. They decided against looking any more into it though because they didn't think it was time.

Towards the end of the summer, they suddenly decided to pull all of my siblings out of the church's school and homeschool them.

Then, at the end of the summer, they ran across this house once again. It was still on the market, which was amazing due to how cheap it was. My dad decided to put an offer on it just to see what would happen. He offered them about $80,000 less than they were asking. Soon enough, we found out that they had accepted!

Approximately in that same week, also around the first week of school, Josh and I both unexpectedly got full scholarships for the year.

Then soon enough it was final! They settled on the house, and we were making plans to move. Josh and I stayed here while everyone else moved to West Virginia.

My family moved the week before Thanksgiving. Josh and I are staying here with our grandparents, still settling into the quiet life at home.

Looking back, I find it amazing how everything fit in perfectly. My parents pulled the kids out of school right before they found the house again. If the kids had stayed in the school, they wouldn't have been able to make the decision to move so easily. It also provided extra money they weren't paying in tuition. The scholarships Josh and I got came right in time for us to switch to paying bills.

Now they are gone, finally owning a house again. God works in a mysterious way, and in the end, he does work for the good! I'm excited to see what is to come.