New Things

It seems as if there is an anticipation of new things as the new school year approaches. New teachers, new classes, new books, pencils, backpacks...new people (a new flux of people some every summer in the military community). Since Joel and I hang out with high school students, we too are feeling this excitement, anticipation, and questioning of what this new school year holds.

One of the biggest new things, is that we will be starting small groups in our church. Joel and I will be leading one for our "adult" friends, and then I will be leading an 11th and 12th grade girls study. This is a bit scary for me. It means that surface level relationship are no longer a plausible option. The goal of a small group, apart from learning about Jesus, is sharing life with those who partake in the group. We've been sharing life with our adult friends for a while, but somehow we've managed to steer clear of major heart issues. The heart issues is where its at though; knowing that you're completely accepted for who you are, with all of your faults, and quirks. One of the other things that worries me is the different doctrines that people hold to be true. Because of where we are (a baptist church) Joel and I tend to be out numbered in our thinking about certain issues. I guess we'll just have to hash through these things with each other and with Jesus through His word and with the help of the Holy Spirit.

I think the way I want to do it is share food, worship, and the Bible together... you can't really go wrong with that can you?

Other new thing that I think about is the youth band that I am currently leading. Some of our key leaders left this year with their families. They went back to the states and are getting plugged into churches there. (Side note: I just got an email from one of the guys, that he is now playing and leading in his new youth band. SO EXCITING!) Anyway, our band grew to know one another really well. They became quite good at reading each other, and just in general their musical talent progressed on an individual and group level. With new people coming in, we'll have to work of all of these things again...so much work...starting from the stage 1, again... But I do feel its worth it.

With all of these new things I am hopeful that the Lord will give me grace to work with people to be successful in sharing Jesus and just simply working with different leaders to love on these youth kids and anyone else that the Lord puts in our paths.

More about the resurrection...

Here are some more quotes that I really liked from the book, "Surprised by Hope," by N.T. Wright. I also just like thinking about these things. It gets me really excited for the resurrection, and makes me say, Let Your Kingdom Come!

In talking about what our resurrected bodies will look like he says, "Dust we are and dust we shall be. But God can do new things with dust."

And he says about 2 Cor. 4 & 5, "What Paul is asking us to imagine is that there will be a new mode of physicality, which stands in relation to our present body as our present body does to a ghost. It will be as much more real, more firmed up, more bodily, than our present body as our present body is more substantial, more touchable, than a disembodied spirit.

"God is the creator, and his new world will be exactly what we need and want, with the love and beauty of the present world taken up and transformed."

"The resurrection means that what you do in the present, in working hard for the gospel, is not wasted. It is not in vain. It will be completed, will have its fulfillment, in God's future."

When talking about how many Christians think that heaven is the end-all, he says, "the point of all this is not, of course, merely our own happy future, important though that is, but the glory of God as we come fully to reflect his image."



Read these and let me know what you think. :)

A Man who Trusts in the Lord

Jeremiah 7:8-9. "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit."


Laura and Chey- Sisters- Thank you for showing me how to be a woman who loves Jesus as her only passion. I will forever look up to you two as spiritual leaders in my life. And secretly I do want to be like you when I grow up.





Audrey, Anna, Maria, Rachel, and Kim- Little Girls- Thank you for journeying with me and experiencing Jesus with me. You guys helped me form a foundation of the basics in Christianity...praying, reading the word, etc. I will forever remember all of the times we've had together at the girls' nights. You guys are the best! (Sorry Kim, I don't have a recent pic. of us. You're still loved though!!)




Hope and Brittany- I don't know what I would have done or where I'd be now if you guys hadn't come into my life in college. You guys are true friends through and through; always ready to give of yourself for others. Thank you for the many times that you helped me delay doing school work for a doughnut/gil. night. You both are amazing. Thank you for showing me how to love Jesus more.



Mazvita- You get your own category because you are unique. Thank you for talking with me all of those late nights. Thank you for sharing your heart with me and being vulnerable with me. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and discernment. Thank you for letting me watch you grow in the Lord, in the painful times and the happy times. (I am so excited for you and Ben!)


Laura. Chey. Audrey. Anna. Maria. Rachel. Kim. Chelsea. Hope. Brittany. Mazvita. Thank you for being godly women of faith. Thank you for trusting in the Lord with seemingly unwavering faith. Thank you for loving Jesus and depending on Him even through the toughest of situations. Thank you for always trusting that the Lord has a plan and purpose for your life, and for my life. Thank you for clinging to Jesus and hiding yourself in Him. You've left a mark on my life forever. You are true friends. Thank you for being selfless and giving yourself fully to God and to people. Thank you for sharing your lives with me. You are all such amazing, beautiful women.

Faithfulness in the mundane

Sometimes life is just normal; nothing new is happening, nothing tragic, nothing overly exciting, just the same ol' same ol'. Laundry, cleaning, going to work, hanging with friends, church, movies, reading, eating...the ins and outs of life. Its like for a moment in our lives, life plateaus, no ups or downs but all is constant. stagnant. Yet, still moving forward.

I think during these times its the hardest to TRUST. Its hardest to LOVE. to find REST and COMFORT. Hardest to SIT and BE with the Lord. It feels like life has stopped. We lose our purpose. We lose our drive. We feel normal. We feel mundane. I mean, we are aren't doing anything spectacular. So we must not be anything spectacular, right?

WRONG! We're letting life and the things we do define who we are, define our self worth and our importance in this world. The reality is that the Lord defines who we are. He has given us purpose, even in the mundane, "go therefore and make disciples...teaching them to observe all I have commanded you..."

Lean upon Jesus when life seems meaningless. He will give you purpose; Jesus becomes the focus. Be faithful in the little things. Walk one step at a time. Trust in Him because even the mundane can be beautiful, full of meaning, and full of life.

Oh Africa, I miss Thee!

the dirt. the smell. the heat. the smiles. the kids. the songs. the noises. the drums. the animals. the w.c. the bucket baths. the bugs. the skirts. the flip flops. the truck rides. the roads. the rice. the peanut sauce. the beggars. the widows. the cokes. the market. the moto. the tanties. the pace. the friendships. the language. the mornings. the evenings. the soccer matches. the harvest. the millet. the rain.

Worship

" Worship is our response both personal and corporate to God for who He is and what He has done expressed in and by the things we say and the way we live." -Louie Giglio

Worship starts and ends with God. As we recognize His worth our natural response is worship.

"O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth, Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens! From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength ,Because of Your adversaries, To make the enemy and the revengeful cease. When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained; What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You crown him with glory and majesty! You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, All sheep and oxen, And also the beasts of the field, The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, Whatever passes through the paths of the seas. O Lord , our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth!" Psalm 8

Worship is recognizing His worth; Who He is.

"Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, Not one of them is missing." Isaiah 40:26

"Who is like the LORD our God, who is enthroned on high, who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth? He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of His people. He makes the barren woman abide in the house as a joyful mother of children." Psalm 113:5-9

"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who had first given to Him that it might be paid back again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things." Romans 11:33-36

Worship is recognizing His worth; What He has done and is doing.

"Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." Philippians 2:8

"And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world." 1 John 2: 2

"O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O LORD, You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night," even the darkness is not dark to You, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You." Psalm 139: 1-12

When we recognize God's worth all we can do is express the deep emotions in our hearts. This expression comes in various ways; we "shout joyfully to the Lord," break forth and sing," "clap your hands," "bow low and worship," "fall prostrate before Him who sits on the throne," "cast their crowns before the throne," "kneel before the Lord our maker," ect.

Our attitude expresses our worship to God, with joy, thanksgiving, awe, gratitude, and humility.

We worship God in spirit and truth. "To worship God in spirit requires that we be alive on the inside, experiencing the life He gives by spiritual birth. Without His life, you can never truly worship. And to worship in truth means to worship God as He really is, bringing more than our words, but bringing words amplified by an authentic life that flows from being spiritually remade within." -Louie Giglio

Our actions, expressions, and attitudes in worship should be "amplified by an authentic life that flows from being spiritually remade within." I LOVE that! Worship is the lifestyle that you choose when you see God as He truly is, in all of His glory, splendor, and majesty. All you can do is honor Him and praise Him for who He is and what He's done. All you can do-must do- is give Him everything you have through a life of service to Him and to those around you.

"Its not the words I sing, but me I bring; I'm the offering laid at your feet, My steps the melody, oh so sweet, All of me in praise of Thee."

Friendship

Whenever I hear anything said about friendship these days I am all ears and usually struck to the core wondering and examining my our heart, life, motives as to whether I am truly a good friend. Let me back up to why I am blogging about this. Yesterday's sermon talked a little about authentic friendship. The definition of a friend that was given was this:

"A trustworthy peer with whom we mutually choose to lovingly live with by seeking unique access and service for God's glory and our mutual good."- Mark Driscoll

Our pastor pointed out the words, "peer", "mutually choose", "live with", and "God's glory". The word that gets me the most every time is the "live with". I know that it doesn't seem like it should be interesting or even difficult, but its the one that trips me up the most. He said that living with doesn't mean cohabitation, but that it simply means a co-sharing of activities, emotions, hearts, etc. This means that the friend shares their "junk" with me and I with them. This means that there is risk involved. This means that there is risk because of the fact that you have to trust this person with your heart, thoughts, and even sin, and KNOW that they will care for it as you care for theirs. Its always hardest for me to trust my heart, to be completely vulnerable and let people/ a person into that part of my life. This is the challenge that hits me every time I hear anything about friendship, "Am I doing my part in being a friend? Am I letting that person into my heart, into my sin and letting them help me through it? Do I trust the Lord enough to guard my heart though I share it with others?" Sometimes, most times, my answer is no.

New and Wonderful Things

I was just thinking about how Joel and I are now over our heads into the youth group at our church. Joel is teaching the Sr. High boys and I the Sr. High girls. I am also helping with the youth worship band. I am so excited that the Lord has asked us to serve this specific people, a people who is usually looked down upon because of their age and stature in the world. What are "youth" anyway? Why do they matter? I think they matter because, as cliche as it sounds, they are the next leaders, teachers, pastors, rock stars, etc. in our world. Also, they matter because they are God's children.

Its been a few weeks now since we went to the youth retreat, which was on a beach...AMAZING. But anyway, we really had the opportunity to get to know these kids and for them to get to know us. Since then more of the kids are opening up to us and sharing their lives with us. Its such an astounding thing! Yet at the same time our hearts break because they are just kids and they are going through some rough times: lose of hearing, boy trouble, family separation, figuring out who they are going to be, and the list goes on. They are looking to Joel and I as mentors through these times. They are looking to us to lead them to Jesus and to lead them to truth. What a heavy weight! I rejoice that the weight and the burden is the Lord's first and he chose Joel and I to share in it, and to tend to His precious lambs. My prayer is that He gives us the grace to walk steadfast with our eyes focused on Him first and foremost, and that He gives us the grace to be good stewards of the hearts that He's entrusted to our care.

Another year older

Here I am another year older; what a whirlwind of a year!

From single to married in 5 months
From living in landlocked Missouri to living on tropical island Okinawa

From being a full-time student to being a housewife who occasionally volunteers
From being a virgin to..you know...

From having short hair to having long
From having 3 lady roommates to having 1 man roommate
From English, French, and Moore to Japanese
From non-denominational Christian Fellowship to baptist Koza
From being 23 to being 24
From shopping at Wal-Mart and Schnucks to shopping at the PX and the Commissary
From hobbies such as going to coffee shops to hobbies such as laying on the beach and bike riding

I never could have imagined a life filled with so much adventure, so much unknown, so much joy, and so much laughter. Its amazing all of the changes that take place in just one year of our lives; what a joy it is to have a constant in Jesus Christ. I pray, Lord, that you fill this next year with more excitement, more joy, and more adventure.

One afternoon in Japan

Today, sitting in the sunlight in the sand, I took in some of the Japanese way of life. Shutting my eyes I heard the tiny voices of children talking, the cheering of a crowd watching a volleyball game, voices singing in harmony because of a won volley, and laughter everywhere.

These are the sounds of a peaceful people.

My eyes still closed, I smelled the Japanese flesh popsicles(YUM!!), a smell that reminds me of home and mom's bbq. I also smelled the salt of the sea as the waves crashed against the sandy shore.

Opening my eyes I saw families far and wide, scattered on the beach enjoying each others company. Children of all ages digging in the sand , running, and splashing in the water. Young and old alike, floating on intertubes in the water. A group of college age students sitting under a gazebo like tent drinking, laughing, enjoying life.

A culture of such tradition, of such modesty, closely knit to family, finding enjoyment in life.

I am brought to curiosity...Do they ever work? When...it's 2pm? Do the teenagers actually like spending time with their parents? Why don't the women wear swimsuits but instead shorts and long sleeve shirts? What are they talking about? ...

What a beautiful culture, full of life, tradition, and mystery. I can only speculate what aspects of God's character are shown to the world through this people. Maybe patience. Maybe peace and serenity...

Give me grace to learn and to adapt O God.

The Battle for True Beauty

Yesterday I was faced with a harsh reality. Yet again the situation I loathe finds its way back into my life, playing games with my mind. Ever since I can remember I've been against the American concept of beauty, the idea that to be beautiful one has to be thin. It doesn't matter the content of the person's character or even the beauty in their face. The sole deciding factor of beauty in America is a thin body.

Throughout my life I've been challenged to forgo my thoughts and convictions concerning this, but I have stood strong. Just recently though, I'm beginning to think that as I deal with Americans, my fictitious ideals of beauty are not reality. Because this world is fallen, because the people in it are fallen, the reality that supersedes all others, is that thin is more beautiful. What a lie the devil hass weaved into the whole of society.

When this reality keeps its distance from my personal life, I can bear it. Even at times, I can fight against it. When this reality invades my space like a bad smell, its not as easy to keep my hands up.

So the question remaining is, What does one do? Conform? Retaliate despite the cost? Dismiss it like it nothing to be bothered with? Or run away as far as one can go?

What is one drop of water going upstream while an entire river flows down?

Do I do it for him? He is an American to the very core. His ideas of beauty follow that of the mainstream.

Is it pride that keeps me from it? Is it obedience to a different lifestyle?

Can one mere person change the cultural norm of a nation?

I would like to believe so, but for now, the battle in my mind remains. There will be no resolution tonight.

Falling Star

Where has her voice gone?
Used for worship, expressing the depths of her heart to the Lord.
Praise, Adoration, Truth.
Why is she afraid? Why is she ashamed?
The last time she sang, she was in the limelight. Worship is what she did, who she was.
What happens when star falls?
Guilt, Shame, Hypocrisy.

Finding herself in Jesus, the Healer, holding her world in His hands.
Her portion, her strength. All she needs. Finding forgiveness as far as the East is from the West.
Healer, You are holding my world in your hands. Nothing is impossible for You.

Life and Peace

"the mind set on the spirit is life and peace..." Romans 8:6

life and peace. life and peace.
a world where life and peace reign; what would that look like?
life. no death. no decay. life.
vibrant. free.
life. wholeness. newness. life.
breath. essence.
life.
a world where life and peace reign; what would that look like?
peace. no hate. no want. peace.
tranquility. order.
peace. rest. security. peace.
unity. harmony.
peace.

Light and Life

I just read an email from some friends in Aman, Jordan. The Lord told them to go to Aman to be missionaries and to live among a people that seems to be so against the gospel. At the beginning of their journey they got discouraged often because of the difficult language training and the few people that they encountered. They left their homes, their way of life in America, to up and move to this foreign country and NOTHING was happening. Yet they remained hopeful that they were not there in vain and the Lord had a reason for sending them.

Now months later, the Lord is opening up opportunities to share the gospel with these traditionally Muslim people. There are definite seeds that have been planted. They get to practice their Arabic by reading the Bible to devout Muslims!!! The Lord moves in mysterious ways for sure.

Its amazing to me that the Lord puts people in specific places, at specific times, to touch the lives of specific people, whom he loves so dearly. I can barely think about it without tearing up. We have a Father who loves people, His people, SO much that he pursues them, and he uses US, the people in His Church, to speak truth and love to the hurting and broken.

People everyone need to know about Jesus. He lives in me and therefore I am a light, whether I like that fact or not, whether I feel like it or not. People who are slaves to sin and living life for themselves watch me, either consciously or subconsciously, because I have LIFE and I know the way to life.

It is so easy to think that my life is about ME. Or to become angry or upset because I am not in the place, physically, where I think I should be. Or that I would be more effective if only I lived here and was with X people group. The TRUTH is that Jesus has me where I am for a purpose! I am working the job I am for a purpose! I am on the path that is best for me because Jesus wants the best for me! There is someone in my life, even if just one person in my life, that Jesus wants to speak to. Will I really be so consumed with me that I lose the chance to be used by Jesus to change the eternity of someone else?

"You are a the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden..." Matthew 5:14