Faith, Hope, and Love

Forward Motion

2012-01-31T17:23:00.004-05:00

It takes me awhile to accept change. It's not that I don't like new things- more that I miss things I've grown accustomed to when they're no longer there. Over the last few days, I've been praying a lot about some coming changes that I'm not looking forward to or honestly, a little scared of. As I came before God with a heavy heart, He sweetly reminded me that what I'm seeing as painful for little reason is meant by Him for my good. Asking God to return things to my comfort zone is asking Him to leave me where I am, to stop growing and forming me to look more like Him. Asking to go back is a rejection of the good that resulted from changes of the past. With each big hurdle in life, I've found with time a new normal is established. Most of the time, I like it more than the last and mourn when it changes. This will be no different. He's teaching me trust, stretching my faith, and reminding me that there's nothing to fear in His plans for me.

"You Lead"

2012-01-25T23:45:00.004-05:00

I've got waves that are tossin' me,

Crashin' all over my beliefs,
And in all sincerity, Lord,
I wanna be yours,
So pull me out of this mess I'm in,
Cause I know I'm wanderin'
Lead my soul back home again,
I've always been yours,

And this world may push, may pull,
But your love it never fails,

You lead, I'll follow, Your hands hold my tomorrow,
Your grip, Your grace, You know the way,
You guide me tenderly,
When you lead, I'll follow,
Just light the way and I'll go,
Cause I know what you got for me is more then I can see,
So lead me on, on, on and on,
Just lead me on, on, on and on,

As a child I heard your voice,
But as a girl I made my choice,
There is no other way for me,
I'm devoted to you,
You're my peace on the heavy days,
You're the warmth of an autumn blaze,
Your love carries me away,
And it's never to soon, no...

And this world may push, may pull,
But your mercy never fails,

You lead, I'll follow, Your hands hold my tomorrow,
Your grip, Your grace, You know the way,
You guide me tenderly, yeah,
When you lead, I'll follow,
Just light the way and I'll go,
Cause I know what you got for me is more than I can see,
So lead me on, on, on and on,
Just lead me on, on, on and on,

Sometimes when I wake up, I don't wanna rise up, Out of my bed, to many thoughts in my head,
Don't wanna be who I used to be,
Gonna take the back seat and let you lead,
And I...
Need to stop, need to stop,
Cause I'm going to fast,
And I...
Know my God is still God, And you got my back,

You lead, I'll follow, Your hands hold my tomorrow,
Your grip, Your grace, You know the way,
You guide me tenderly, yeah,
When you lead, I'll follow,
Just light the way and I'll go,
Cause I know what you got for me is more than I can see,
So lead me on...
Lead me on...

And I...
Need to stop, need to stop,
Cause I'm going too fast,
And I...
Know my God is still God, And you got my back,
You got my back,
I know ya got me, I know ya got me,
I know ya got me, Lead me on...

~J. Grace

The line: "Your hands hold my tomorrow" especially came to mind today. I have a hard time releasing control over circumstances despite knowing that control is His with or without my unnecessary striving.

Quilt update!

2012-01-20T08:48:00.005-05:00

I was on the first steps just until this week (cutting out the squares and putting anti-fraying backer on them) I didn't work on it every night so timeframe is slightly misleading as far as how long it takes. I really started the 2nd week or so in Jan so for where I am, it's great progress!

The friend who's doing a quilt of her own with me told me to use the flexible, plastic cutting "boards" to cushion the cutting space. Definitely much smoother cuts!

All squares are now backed and in the pattern order I want. This includes 6 specially designed squares (more than one piece sown or patched together)!

The whole thing is 7 squares wide and 7 deep. 6 of the 7 rows are sown together!I'm waiting to finish the middle row because I'm still crafting the very center square. I'd love to find a Clemson girl patch or get a child sized shirt with something about Clemson girls on it. The material currently in that space was is a fabric I found that I really like! It's somewhat girlie and cute! I'm thinking of making fabric flowers out of it to attach as accents if I dont use it as a whole piece.

Supply/cost update:
More fusible backer (4yds): $20 (love my fabric store! Always a sale or a coupon!)
2 yds Purple fabric: $10 (used for the special squares. I bought it thinking I may end up making some extra squares to fill out space.... not needed!)
1 yd of white fabric $3
1 yrd of a nice Clemson patterned fabric -$10/yd

400 long quilting pins $7
slidable metal fabric ruler $2
patch-making no sew material- $3 (for the special squares)
for a total of $55 additional dollars

The main reason this has been so expensive is that its my first project so I' ve had to buy supplies and I'm doing more experimenting.

So excited about how its coming together!

Not alone in the struggle

2012-01-16T02:11:00.003-05:00

I just discovered a blog written by a friend of mine. Of course, the first thing to do with a new blog discovery is to start exploring! I love this post! I have previously written about encouragement in living out Biblical manhood and womanhood. This is another in that thread but the quote focuses on a mature Christian man keeping faith that God has a Godly woman in mind for him and prays for her growth and sustaining while they both wait. I find this so encouraging as a female. We more often hear about women being encouraged in our wait. Don't settle, pray for a Godly husband, cultivate the attributes of a Godly wife.... All good and encouraging but I find it refreshing when I hear or read of a man struggling through the wait as well. It's all too easy to get discouraged and assume that men don't feel the heart longings that women do. We were built with different emotions and reactions but men who are seeking the Lord as they seek a wife are looking for women who are truly in love with our Savior. How encouraging to know that God works mightily in those He's given the responsibility of pursuing and these Godly men are still worth waiting for.

Love this!!!

2012-01-06T10:31:00.002-05:00

Admittedly, I take things too personally sometimes. Negative comments towards those I care about (family, friends, my alma mater, my church....) are one of those things....
Especially in the fall football season, I need to be reminded that nasty comments about my university are centered around competitive football. No one will be able to take what God did in my heart and life during my four years at a wonderful university. A fellow Alum said it so well here.
(I've also previously written on the topic here)

This is more a continued lesson for me.... Identity in Christ! Nothing else compares and should not therefore be able to affect me.

Tshirt quilt!

2012-01-04T22:24:00.005-05:00

I've been wanting to make my college tshirts into a quilt since before I graduated. So excited to begin the process. My sweet friend Shannon has made one before so we'll be making some "crafting dates" to work on our individual projects together! So looking forward to time with her and seeing our projects progress!

For the sake of curiosity (b/c I know its one of my biggest questions) I'll try to record not only the process but also some idea of how much the whole project costs. I've done a little research on paying to have the quilt made by a "professional". I'm betting I can do it cheaper and more fun ;)

So far:
A fabric store close to work has a sale this week!
I bought a pizza cutter looking device to help with the fabric cutting
Originally: $30 but on sale for $21
a 12.5x 12.5 omnigrid (a square, clear piece with gridlines to keep everything uniform) on sale for $16
3 yds of fusable backing The sales lady was so nice and gave me a 40% off coupon! Originally $7/yd but with the coupon the material and a pair of fabric scissors came to $21!
To protect my floors, tables, etc for the cutting process I picked up a couple of foam presentation boards 2/$5
So totals for tools and supplies: about $60
I still need to pick up the batting for the middle and choose what I want to do for the back. It will likely be a jersey knit sheet or I'll pick up a few yards of fleece material.
I want this to be very cozy and well loved for snuggling on the couch so I'm leaning towards a fluffier batting and fleece back!

Here are a few pictures of some initial steps:

Here you can see several shirts I had labeled as to which sides I wanted used as well as a piece of remnant I picked up forever ago...Not sure if it'll be used or not. Its fleece so the shirts are a different material. You can also just see the guide square and cutting tool sitting on the fleece.

Getting to the cutting! I found it easiest to face the back of the shirt up and cut along the seams.

I started with the sleeves then cut the color from the back. I found this to be best as I accidentally cut a little of a back design while the front was facing up. (the collar on the front side is lower than in the back so if you cut looking at the front, the back design you do want may be underneath the front collar you don't want. Thankfully, it wasn't damaged too badly but definitely a lesson learned!

I have a few more shirts to do initial cuts on before using the grid to get the 12.5x12.5 squares cut. Its 12.5 to allow some room for sowing. After the squares are cut, I'll iron the backing onto the pieces and prepare them for Shannon and I's first sowing session!

One DIY finished and another begins!

2012-01-04T22:09:00.004-05:00

The pillow cover from this post is finished! :) I had a wonderful time getting a couple sowing lessons from Jean, one of the ladies in my small group. She was so kind to host me in her home for a couple of evenings to finish the project. Here's how it turned out!

I love the piping, the hidden zipper and the cute paisley accent! The pillow now much better fits the decor of the room. I'm excited to have a cute accent piece that will add to the rest awhile theme of the room. My dad has described my color scheme and overall feel of the living room to be an invitation to "come down a couple notches", to be calm and rest. I love that :) I hope my guests do feel like my home is relaxing and inviting. It's certainly been so for me. I especially love that I'm gathering pieces that not only provide fashion and function but sweet memories of those I spent time with to create them. I do believe I've been bitten by the home decoration, crafting bugs!

Next up: a tshirt quilt with my college shirts!

With you until the end of the age....

2011-12-24T08:42:00.005-05:00

I have gleaned so much over the last few years by reading the blogged thoughts of wise sisters in Christ. I was reading the blog of a friends older sister and came across this quote:

"Some fears surface over and over again, especially fear of the future. You tend to project yourself mentally into the next day, week, month, year, decade; and you visualize yourself coping badly in those times. What you are seeing is a false image, because it doesn't include Me. Those gloomy times that you imagine will not come to pass, since My presence will be with you at all times.

When a future-oriented worry assails you, capture it and disarm it by suffusing the Light of my Presence into that mental image. Say to yourself, "Jesus will be with me then and there. With His help, I can cope!"

Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

A beautiful truth to take hold of as the new year approaches.

Merry Christmas!

Music

2011-12-08T23:57:00.002-05:00

I love music. I sang in the choir in elementary school/jr high, usually have the radio or my iPod playing in the car, love concerts and generally find myself reflecting on especially praise music lyrics. This time of year, there's even more music to enjoy!
I'm planning to share a few of my favorite Christmas music as well as some anytime favorites. If you find reading lyrics boring, feel free to skip those posts hehe. I hope you may find a few new favorites if you choose to read on :)

The first new favorite actually relates to a recent post with some encouragement for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and another with sweet song about a faithful marriage.
Encouraged and excited to find out what God's best may be....

I look around and see my wonderful life
Almost perfect from the outside
In picture frames I see my beautiful wife
Always smiling
But on the inside, I can hear her saying

"Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone."

I see their faces, look in their innocent eyes
They're just children from the outside
I'm working hard, I tell myself they'll be fine
They're independent
But on the inside, I can hear them saying

"Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone."

So Father, give me the strength
To be everything I am called to be
Oh, Father, show me the way
To lead them
Won't you lead me?

To lead them with strong hands
To stand up when they can't
Don't want to leave them hungry for love
Chasing dreams that I could give up

I'll show them I'm willing to fight
And give them the best of my life
So we can call this out home
Lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone

Father, lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone

Christian lyrics - LEAD ME LYRICS - SANCTUS REAL

Finished DIY!

2011-12-08T23:55:00.010-05:00

Remember this project?

Here's the finished product!!
I really love the way it turned out and the ladies I got to hang out with while covering the canvases! Thank you again, Hannah and Maegen!

Bottles and Brushes

2011-12-08T23:55:00.007-05:00

I had such a great time with some sweet friends at our first Bottles and Brushes visit. The studio offers group painting classes where an artists guides you through creating the painting of the night.
We did "Red Bird"....and gave it our own interpretation hehe. A couple of the girls I went with aren't big winter fans so they opted not to add snow to their painting. I loved the snow but decided that the painting would fit better with my decor if I left it off. We also opted to personalize the script at the top as well. We were just the class rebels haha
Mine stayed the closest. I just added the scripture reference (Be still and know that I am...)
Amanda used "Dance like no one is watching" and Hannah wrote the Chinese symbols for love and Father.

Here's a couple pics of our fun girls night!

Amen for being a man!

2011-12-08T23:44:00.005-05:00

A Real Man

Encouragement to be a Real Woman

Wow! Amen!!
It's so encouraging to see men willing to step up and be Godly men. I'm so thankful for an earthly father and spiritual brothers who have shown me what to wait for. Praise God, Biblical manhood exists!

A few of my favorite quotes from the video:

"you should have to touch her heart and her mind first before you ever touch her body"

"your body makes a promise whether you do or not"

"start studying her heart stop studying her booty or maybe invest the same amount of time in her as you do in call of duty"

"she longs to be accepted, longs to be loved so she gives herself up to another guy's lust"

Battle

2011-12-05T15:11:00.001-05:00

Just over a year into my current job, a few months into a new church and home, I've been asking God more earnestly to reveal more of His mission for me. This has been a prayer off and on for years but now that some changes are settling out, I've developed a stronger desire to understand where God wants me to focus. I've asked him to reveal not just interest but a passion.
The course of developing this desire has included growing pains. It's been a sweet yet trying time with all God's revealed. He's allowed me to be reminded of my daily need for His grace while also showing me that trials are so often shared. Vulnerability with sisters in Christ brings healing as we break down what the enemy uses to divide. I shared with my small group something that as cheesy as it sounds really seems to sum up this concept: a scene from Harry Potter. Harry is talking to Luna and she tells him she's not surprised the enemy has tried to isolate Harry. When he's alone he's not as much of a threat. It's this line that has stuck with me since I first heard it. Our enemy does the same thing. He breaks us down and tries to convince us we're the oddball- the only one struggling with something. There's a sweet freeing power in realizing how God has intended for the body to work together and support each other.
For me, reaching a place of understanding in the enemy's weapons of choice for me has helped me recognize the attacks and prepare for them. It's also shown me what my defender has been doing. He's training me to withstand these attacks and point others toward Him. As difficult as some battles have been, the victory in Christ is unmatched. There's nothing like knowing He's fighting for me and He's also teaching me to be strong in the battle.
Vision for my future begins to come together as I see how He's answering my prayer for a passion through allowing me to see battle and be equipped to teach my Christian siblings to do the same. Time to suite up. The General is building an army.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

2011-11-27T17:37:00.011-05:00

Mom and Dad celebrated Thanksgiving here this year. We had a great time just enjoying one another's company and doing a little shopping around town. Probably the highlight though was their first visit to the James Island County Park holiday lights! I've been a couple of times but I hadn't fully explored Santa's village so we all enjoyed seeing something new!
Here are a few pics and videos of our fun family evening.

Roasting Marshmallows in the fire pits

Angel and Church

Tree and Bridge

Local schools paint/create display boards for the Winter Wonderland area. My favorite is one with the various names/characteristics of Christ

Video of the detail of the I AM board

More Than a Fairy Tale

2011-11-14T22:53:00.004-05:00

I enjoy reading blogs. I have a list that I subscribe to but I also look at friends' subscription lists. I read one tonight that repeated some truth I've needed to be reminded of lately.

Here's an excerpt:

The Lord will do what He wants for your life that will bring HIM THE MOST GLORY. It’s not about how long or short the wait is, how much you are hurting, how obedient you are (although that’s SUPER important), etc...It’s about HIS PLAN AND HIS GLORY. [...] If I had the choice, would I change [the time I was in a trial?] My honest answer is NO! I wouldn’t. I didn’t think at the time I needed changing at all. In fact, I would have been plain mad if someone told me that. Looking back, I see just HOW MUCH the Lord needed to do in me...

[...] Don’t keep saying, “I’ll be happy when....” Because when that thing comes, there will be something else....Trust in the Lord’s plan for your life, pray for JOY everyday AND DON’T LET SATAN STEAL THAT JOY...

Jeremiah 31:3

I have loved you with an everlasting love;

I have drawn you with unfailing kindness

I so often struggle with this! I cry to God when I feel I'm missing something...most often what I'm missing is looking for God's hand in circumstances I don't prefer. I get so occupied when things stray from my "ideal". I forget that God's plans are perfect. When He asks me to do something difficult, He intends His Glory and my good to result. So why do I complain and cringe when He presents a trial? Why am I dreaming up a fairy tale when my Heavenly Father has named me heir to a real throne? Thankfully, His plans even make good of my reluctance to accept what will make me stronger in Him.

Praying for a love like this...

2011-11-11T07:18:00.000-05:00

He's Walking Her Home
------Mark Schultz

Looking back, he sees it all.
It was her first date the night he came to call
And her dad said "Son, have her home on time, and promise me you'll never leave her side."
He took her to a show in town,
And he was ten feet off the ground.

(Chorus)
He was walking her home, holding her hand
Oh the way she smiled, it stole the breath right out of him
Down that old road, with the stars up above
He remembers where he was the night he fell in love
He was walking her home.

Ten more years, in a waiting room.
And half-past one, was when the doctor said
"Come in and meet your son."
And his knees went weak, when he saw his wife
She was smiling as she said "He's got your eyes."
And as she slept he held her tight
His mind went back to that first night.

(Chorus)

And wandered through the best days of her life
Sixty years together and he never left her side.
A nursing home, at eighty-five
And the doctor said it could be her last night.
And the nurse said "Oh, should we tell him now? Or should he wait until the morning to find out...?"
But when they checked her room that night,
He was laying by her side.

He was walking her home, holding her hand,
Oh, the way she smiled when he said "This is not the end."
Just for a while, they were eighteen
And she was still more beautiful to him than anything.

He was walking her home. (x2)

Looking back, he sees it all.
It was her first date the night he came to call.

More DIY....

2011-11-09T20:33:00.004-05:00

Yep....too many ideas haha I have made some progress on a couple though! One of the awesome ladies in my small group is going to help me with the pillow cover Woo Hoo!

Here's a couple more I've come up with in the meantime Good thing a long weekend is coming up. Have a feeling I know what I'll be doing!!
I'm planning to hang these from dark green ribbon above my bed :)

I'm thinking the frame will also go in my room. It doesn't have many decorations at the moment. I'd like to fill the openings with scripture and quotes.

More fall YUM!

2011-11-09T20:21:00.003-05:00

Apparently a renewed interest in cooking came with the DIY bug...
I tried this recipe for small group last night. The group as a whole is a fan of pumpkin. Ladies after my own heart :) Pumpkin dip was a hit! Very quick and easy. Great for holiday gatherings :)

YUMMO!

2011-11-05T16:54:00.003-04:00

Recent discovery: dark hot chocolate mix made with milk and peppermint mocha coffee mate= YUM!!

Loving fall/winter treats!!

A finished DIY :)

2011-11-05T11:24:00.004-04:00

I bought a cinnamon broom maybe a month or so ago. I love the smell. It reminds me of fall and Christmas at my parents house. So inviting!

I had it long enough that I couldn't really smell it anymore and it was starting to shed a bit on the floor. So when I found two great vases at the dollar store I got an idea for re-purposing the broom!

I just loosened some of the ties holding the broom together and started tearing. Messy but so quick and easy! Clean up really wasn't bad either. Just sent some nice-smelling debris through the vacuum cleaner! Not a bad side effect that my vacuum has cinnamon in it now haha.

Finished! Love it! Accented with a green dollar store runner and a small grocery store pumpkin :)

Left over fabric?? must be destined for another DIY!

2011-11-05T11:12:00.005-04:00

As shown in the last post, I bought 3 different fabrics and only have a purpose for 1.....Yea...that lasted all of an hr! haha
Here's what I'm planning for the other two! :)

I bought this pillow on sale at Target with other supplies for the new place. I love that its big and fluffy so great for stretching out on the floor for a movie or project. My parents have one at their house (my grandparents actually had one too!) I really wanted one for my place. Problem is, they didn't have one that matched my living room decor.... enter excess (decor matching!) fabric!!

The paisley print is a little busier than the rest of my decor but isolated on the papasan it goes really well with the olive and chocolate color pallet. I didn't get enough paisley to cover the whole pillow but that actually works out well. I don't think I'd want a whole paisley pillow! The chocolate fabric (on the left side of the chair) will be one side of the pillow. I'm hoping I can get some help from a some of the ladies in my small group to sew it together with a zipper for washing. The small pillows are also from Target. They're dual colored as well so I figured everything would go together nicely! (the large pillow has been on the floor in a corner until now)
Love how everything is coming together!!

DIY in progress!

2011-11-05T10:34:00.008-04:00

Thanks to my new obsession with Pinterest....I caught a Do-It-Yourself bug!
For my next project....wall art!!
Inspiration: (no I didnt do this one Its a googled example ;) )

Here's my version!
First, the supplies:

3 fabrics totaling 4 1/2 yds for $23

I went to Big Lots to get some inexpensive canvases ($5 each!) to wrap in the new fabrics. I found the three on top to wrap but I LOVED the one on the bottom so .....my design changed!

Close-up of the one I want to use-as is.

New design plan: wrap the three canvases in the olive green and use the 4th as the print.

Placement: The current plan is for the new collage to go above the tv....still playing with that idea though...

The empty space on the left is another option. Any suggestions??

DIY!

2011-10-16T21:46:00.006-04:00

I recently joined Pinterest... wasn't sure I'd ever join or if I'd like it but there are definitely some great advantages! Do-it-yourself tips are huge categories!

I had been looking for a storage solution to the typical bag of bags in my pantry. So I decided to try THIS

Here's what the process looked like....

The supplies... I took the wipes out of the container and put them into a plastic bag (storage issue driving me too crazy to wait! The spatulas were originally to evenly spread glue on the container if I need to but I just ended up putting it on the scrapbook paper (I changed up the supply list a bit from the original but it seems to be working!)

First steps...flatten a bag, fold in half, line up.

starting to line them up.

All the bags ready to be rolled!

Rolling was the hardest part... I had a hard time keeping the air out!

Bags rolled and in the container!

Last step! Decorating :)

Finished product!

And with the rest of the bags (yes....I have A LOT even after recycling some!)
I tried THIS

With this result...I'll definitely makes use of this again!

They're ALIVE!!!

2011-10-10T21:27:00.003-04:00

In case you were worried having not heard much about my leafy green roommates, rest assured, they've survived! (at least so far!) Special thanks to the wonderful Amanda who gave me some very valuable tips in caring for the peace lilly! It's grown bigger and stronger because of your expert touch!

It's been a great, productive weekend pulling some organizational touches together. I've definitely loved all the little things that have made my new place homey and very "me".

A new favorite...

2011-10-02T23:28:00.001-04:00

Nothing can separate
Even if I ran away
Your love never fails

I know I still make mistakes
But You have new mercies for me everyday
Your love never fails

Chorus:
You stay the same through the ages
Your love never changes
There may be pain in the night but joy comes in the morning
And when the oceans rage
I don't have to be afraid
Because I know that You love me
Your love never fails

Verse 2:
The wind is strong and the water's deep
But I'm not alone in these open seas
Cause Your love never fails

The chasm is far too wide
I never thought I'd reach the other side
But Your love never fails

Bridge:
You make all things work together for my good

...the greatest of these is love

2011-09-11T23:00:00.005-04:00

I just finished watching some 10 yr anniversary 9/11 coverage.... I really hadn't planned on saying much in person or online about the anniversary today. I'll admit I am incredibly blessed not to have known anyone directly affected by the tragedy. I suppose I feel a little unqualified to say much. And yet, watching the coverage, I'm reminded that we're all affected in some way or another. Freedom and our way of life as a nation was attacked that day.

There have been many wars before this one and I recognize that I grew up in a post-world wars and Vietnam war era that my grandparents lived through. There are memorials in DC that I've visited but have no real connection to. I've never visited New York but I'll forever remember the day the towers came down and now the building of the memorial.

My children and grandchildren may someday ask me what I remember about the day that American life as I knew it changed. I'll tell them that I was in a high school English class. Our teacher took us to an assembly in the gym where the principle told us what had happened. I think at that point, both planes had hit. The teacher had us journal our thoughts and record where we were. We spent the rest of the day watching the classroom tv's and on the computers gathering information as it unfolded. In our last class of the day, the teacher (who had been at home that morning as she was part time) brought in a vhs of the coverage she'd recorded. She talked to us about Bin Laden and the seriousness that our world just changed forever.

It's amazing to me to think that there are children alive today who do not remember the events of September 11, 2001. In a way, this is evidence of our nation's resiliency and growth despite opposition. We will not back down, we will not succumb to the pure evil intentions of the enemy. In other ways though, its so much more sobering. These children do not remember a pre-9/11 world. All they know is our nation at war against those who would gladly take our freedom and consider us unworthy to co-habitate the planet.

In church this morning, we saw a video commemorating the anniversary. The main idea was centered around one of my favorite concepts: Faith, Hope and Love. Faith in God, Hope in Him, sharing His love with a hurting wold. It also addressed the resolution of the country: to never forget. Our challenge then is what we wish to remember. The terrorists' plot? The number of lives lost? Disdain for another nation?

Don't get me wrong, I fully support our troops and am thankful every day for the sacrifices they make so I can live such a privileged life. But real healing is never in retaliation. Its in the hands of Jesus. As we continue to rebuild structures and lives in our nation, let us focus on the master architect and supreme healer.

Even though so many spent the hours, days and weeks following the tragedy wondering where God was, His hands, feet, words and tears were on display even at Ground Zero. The firemen that rushed in, the countless Good Samaritans who helped others to safety, the relief workers, those who comforted and provided for grieving friends and family members....

How, in the face of such devastating grief and turmoil, did so much gentleness, compassion and sacrifice arise? Only because Christ first loved us, are we capable of loving, serving and sacrificing for one another. I'm not assuming that every act of grace or love that day or in the years following was enacted with the intention of being Christ's hands and feet but the evidence of what our Creator empowers us to share is there.

So instead of remembering why the enemy began this crusade against our freedoms (including those of religion) or the devastation that was inflicted, I want to remember how God's love was displayed and how His strength continues to sustain.

Mr. and Mrs. Hassell!

2011-09-04T14:39:00.005-04:00

On Aug 13, I had the privilege to serve as a bridesmaid for my sweet friend, Meredith. God's love, identification with our struggles and heart for what is best for us are so evidently seen in her relationship with her now husband, Aaron. God truly is faithful. Their romance is a beautiful story of God's faithfulness. I enjoyed walking through the college and some post college season with Meredith watching her continually turn to the Lord and how He has blessed her life. Looking forward to what God has planned for these faithful servants.

Nesting

2011-09-04T14:15:00.003-04:00

Has it really been almost 2 months since I've posted??? Oh dear...
There are a few very good reasons! (and perhaps a little forgetfulness/lack of anything to say somewhere in there as well)
The first good reason is that I've been in a month long training course for work. Another class is on the horizon! I usually end up coming home from work and wanting to find anything but a computer screen! Some of what I've been studying/working with is actually rather interesting but but that doesn't typically translate to blogging Ask me in person or give me a call if you want to know about that :)
The other big reason I've been occupied outside the blogging world is that I moved! My new place is quite cute and becoming more homey each day! I spent a good bit of the last few weeks idea searching, shopping and otherwise focused on home details. Its been fun but I'm also excited to see the whole thing put together! Through this, I've become convinced that you don't have to be pregnant to nest! I've been most excited lately about the little details. One such adventure includes plants!Peace Lily
Moth Orchid
Greenery to bring some color to the light walls.

**The disclaimers: I'm not a green thumb....in fact, it could be considered rather brown.
I picked out attractive but also at the least, "tolerant" small potted plants
If you hear nothing further about my new home residents you may infer that I have merely forgotten to post an update or that you should observe a moment of silence for the poor things and do not expect to hear anything further about green living things in my care**
All in all nothing terribly exciting to report. Moreso thankful to be settled and enjoying a little downtime before new assignments and training at work to be followed up by the holidays with fall football throughout.
Hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day weekend!!

Antics from the Cube Farm

2011-07-10T20:58:00.003-04:00

One of our teams in the office keeps quite busy testing systems for compliance. Its often hard to keep track of where they are with so much travel! One of the leads created this ....relaxation aid...for them the other day...

Certifiable ;)

2011-07-05T20:01:00.004-04:00

Its been a pretty crazy month! For the most part, I was busy studying for a certification for work. I'm very thankful to God to say I passed!! (to which Dad jokes that I'm certifiable...hmm haha) I've loved learning new things at work and feeling more a part of the team as I've taken on new roles. This will open some very exciting doors career-wise. I'm looking forward to what God has planned down the road!
To prepare for the certification exam, I was given the opportunity to stay with my parents while I attended a one-week class. It was wonderful to spend the week with them although all too short as I was in class 8 hrs/day and studying at night! We did get some family time in as I flew up a couple of days beforehand and stayed a couple extra days. We also had dinners as a family in the evenings. One of my favorite family events of the trip was having lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, PF Changs, to celebrate passing the certification exam. Dad and I also got to enjoy a "Daddy-Daughter Date" to see the new X-men movie (yes I do like action/sci-fi! great movie!!!)
I'll likely continue to attend classes and take certification exams in the next few months as I work towards more in-depth involvement in this field. I'm excited but soaking in this break. I've been thoroughly enjoying time with new friends and those who have moved to the area after college. I can see how God is working in my life; presenting new, exciting opportunities and teaching me more about His faithfulness as I learn to depend on Him more fully.

Beauty and Value

2011-06-03T18:34:00.005-04:00

Quotes from a sermon I heard recently (taken from the church's fb page)

We all have shallow preoccupations about life, money, status, acceptance, etc and our emotional reward is worry. Worry shows we are not in a trusting relationship with God the way we should be; He is taking care of all of the things we need.

"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:6-7 NLT
Wouldn't you rather live with peace than worry in your heart?

"Most of us don't provide God an opportunity to show us His greatness in our lives." Do you trust yourself more than you trust God?

"Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance"
Isaiah 40:12 ESV
Shouldn't we trust the same God who holds the water in his hand and weighs the mountains?

In America, especially with ladies, it's all about the outward beauty and people forget to look at the inside. America wants an outward transformation, while God values the inward transformation. Where are you focused?

"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."
Philippians 1:6ESV
Aren't you glad it's not up to us to do the transforming, but that God will bring it to completion for us if we allow Him?

We are born wanting to be king over our kingdom (life). We feel stress and anxiety as we try to control every aspect of our lives. But when we accept Christ as our savior, we are called to live in such a way that we crawl off our thrones and invite Him to take the throne of our lives.

This message almost hurt with conviction but healed at the same time...
I know I don't trust God as I should and I pay an emotional price for it. Phil 1:6 is one of my favorite verses. Its so comforting to know that God is faithful. He has a plan for pursuing and growing me. He doesn't give up!

Do You Trust Me?

2011-05-29T09:02:00.004-04:00

In this post, I shared about a lesson Pastor Steve gave on trusting God when you have no idea how He'll work in a situation. I have been reminded of this more lately....following Christ, trusting Him is challenged when we must do so by faith not by sight. In the times it seems God's quiet, He's working mightily, pushing me past comfort zones and safeguards to rely on Him alone.
I love this song by Jeremy Camp. Although it sounds like a lament its actually a victory cry. When I can't, God does.

Jeremy Camp- Healing Hand of God

I have seen the many faces of fear and of pain
I have watched the tears fall plenty from heartache and strain
So if life's journey has you weary and afraid
There's rest in the shadow of His wings

I have walked through the valleys, the mountains, and plains
I have held the hand of freedom that washes all my stains
If you feel weight of many trials and burdens from this world
There's freedom in the shelter of the Lord

And I have seen the healing hand of God
Reaching out and mending broken hearts
Taste and see the fullness of His peace
And hold on to what's being held out
The healing hand of God

And I have touched the scars upon His hands to see if they were real
He has walked the road before me, he knows just how I feel
When you feel that there's not anyone, who understands your pain
Just remember all of Jesus's suffering

'Cause I have seen the healing hand of God
Reaching out and mending broken hearts
Taste and see the fullness of His peace
And hold on to what's being held out

Cast all your cares on Him for He cares for you
He's near to the broken and confused
By His stripes our spirit is renewed
So enter in the joy prepared for you

I have seen the healing hand of God
Reaching out and mending broken hearts
Taste and see the fullness of His peace
And hold on to what's being held out

The healing hand of God
The healing hand of God
The healing hand of God

And hold on to what's being held out
(Hold on)
And hold on to what's being held out
(Hold on)
The healing hand of God, oh, oh

S-H-E-N-A-N-I-G-A-N-S

2011-05-21T23:30:00.006-04:00

Days in the office continue to be punctuated with humor and the recent addition of "shananigans". Another co-worker and my cube-mate have a bit of a minor prank war going on. They like to wait for the other person to step away from their desk then move or rearrange things on the person's desk. (some days just require a brief visit back to childhood.... it reduces stress ;) ) I've been the victim of shenanigans once (you don't realize how much of a creature of habit you are until "getting back to work" involves your hand hitting the desk where your mouse should be!) but, for the most part, I get to witness the planning, execution and discovery of the shenanigans.
Clay recently got pretty creative in the execution of his shenanigan....

Those are thumbtacks on Katie's chair! I did warn her not to sit down before she discovered it! haha

I'm starting to think a great sense of humor is a prerequisite to work in our department! One of the ladies, who sits at the main entrance to our section of the building, occasionally puts print-outs on the front desk. These were two of the most recent....

Can anyone else relate?? haha

Be careful what you pray for....encountering God's power

2011-05-07T09:15:00.005-04:00

I'm in a season of finding out more about God and His power.... His power over pain, His power over the future, His power as protector, friend and Father. Its a trying season that's left me drained and, most of the time, at a loss for words.
God is stripping me of fears, of my plans, of my reliance on myself... (be careful what you pray for! He answers!!!) I can see how He's answered prayer, just in ways that may not have been my first choice... I'm seeing him strip out the selfishness I add into the desires He places on my heart. (subconsciously saying: "sure God, that's a great desire, but lets add this to give me something out of it") This leaves me with the choice of turning away in a frustrated, childish hissy fit or turning to my God in surrender. I'm sure anyone can guess which I'm prone to!
He's SO faithful. Even when I'm crying out that I'm angry, hurt and confused, He sends little gifts of grace to remind me that He loves me and that He's the gardener, pruning diseased branches to make me stronger. One sweet gift of grace came in the form of a surprise visit from a sister who lives a couple of hours away. Just when I needed to be prayed over and hear truth, she was literally waiting for me when I got home from work. She reminded me that God sympathizes with every hurt, every emotion, every tear, EVERYTHING. He loves me as a daddy. An example I heard recently from a new mom: Even as the child is giving a parent a look of betrayal and hurt, the parent must allow them to get immunizations. I, as God's daughter, so often look at Him as being responsible for my pain. What I forget is that He knows what's on the other side. He knows whats best for me. He allows the pain knowing His arms are ready and waiting for me to crawl into them.
Although, sometimes retrospectively, I can see God's hand in each situation, each test, each leap of faith. Finding Him is becoming easier. He's blessed me with an amazing, sustaining peace over some of the more confusing situations and He's opening my eyes to find Him when, at first, I cant see how something could possibly turn out for the best. Though, my idea of "the best" isn't God's. His is better! As a sister recently reminded me, this life, this commitment to take up my cross and follow Jesus isn't for my glory; its for God's. Our obedience leads to God's glory which brings us joy! This walk does involve sorrows and trial but I don't have to carry the burdens that seem to be mounting! He allows trials but He does desire that I have His joy!

Update

2011-05-07T08:46:00.004-04:00

I know I haven't had much activity here... Once again, I've thought about it but either I don't have time or don't have energy.
There's a line to a song... I can't even remember how long ago I heard it! For the longest time, all I could remember was the one line: "When I cannot see your hand, I'll trust your heart"
I recently found the rest of the lyrics: Jeff Anderson- Paralyzed

You have paralyzed all that is inside,
All that is the heart of this desperate man.
I will celebrate the coming of your love.
I can hardly wait for that glorious day.
Though I can’t see you. Though I can’t touch you.
I know that you are reaching out your hand.
I will always walk in your beauty.
When I cannot see your hand I’ll trust your heart.
I can barely breath. I can hardly speak.
I can only close my eyes I can’t even think.
You’re all around me. You’re all that I can see.
The closer that I get the more I am free.
Though I can’t see you. Though I can’t touch you.
I know that you are reaching out your hand.
I will always walk in your beauty.
When I cannot see your hand I’ll trust your heart.
I believe in miracles.
I believe in the God that saved the Universe.
To live this life without you, I could think of nothing worse.
Though I can’t see you. Though I can’t touch you.
I know that you are reaching out your hand.
I will always walk in your beauty.
When I cannot see your hand I’ll trust your heart.

When I can't see God's hand, when I don't understand how something could end well, I must trust God's heart, trust His track record. He's never failed me. Anything I've turned over to Him has turned out better than I could have imagined.

Quotes from the Cube Farm 2

2011-05-07T08:21:00.003-04:00

Days at the office continue to be filled with the usual busyness that characterizes everyone's work load.... Thankfully, I'm still surrounded by some of the most light-hearted, down-to-earth people I've had the pleasure of knowing. Its certainly puts things into perspective when you spend a few minutes calling a co-worker (in another building) to tell them to come get the last doughnut someone brought in because their Facebook status that morning said they wanted one... (yes, it happened...HA!)

Coworker "C": Hah, not guilty
Me: Just this once
"C" and only once I wont make it a habit
Me: Exactly You used your one free card for the year
"C" haha doh
Me: You're taking over for "Coworker B" as office mischief maker Everything is now your fault
"C": and working hard at it
Coworker "B": Dont worry, I'll make regular visits to keep them on their toes. I'm harder to handle when I come in large random bursts

Coworker "T": They are going to lump some newbies under me, I will train them
Me: Oh dear... they're going to let you mold fresh, young minds....
"T": yes
Me: Should I preorder the damage control? :P
"T": please Psychiatric Health
Me: with some counseling....just in case...might be traumatized
"T": exactly

"J"'s favorite phrase: Is it Tracey's fault?
Me: I take no responsibility for anything...ever!
"J": She's learning too quickly!
Yes, my upbringing by one of your fellow "geeks" has taught me well. To (a few of my coworkers): I've been trained well. Underestimation could prove dangerous! (The fun-sized one is on my team!)
"J" Be careful, you know what they say..... "once you go geek, you don't go back" .... You are running dangerously close to full geekdom, it's expensive and you must spend lots of time in Best Buy and computer related websites hunting for toys.

My cube-mate: I'm not surprised you know the back route (into the cafeteria) We just rigged a golf cart!
She's (me) now proved herself as the MacGyver of the office!!
(In our defense....someone forgot to return the key!....so we might have improvised...with a house key.... 0:) )

My cube-mate: I'm part of the team now
Coworker "K": Til death do us part
cube-mate: Or until the contract funds run out...

Quotes from the Cube Farm

2011-04-04T23:13:00.003-04:00

I really enjoy my coworkers! Sometimes.....perhaps a little too much! I'm thankful for new friendships forming especially as we keep each other laughing as we interact throughout the day. It makes for a great environment to look forward to coming into each day!
From these interactions come some great memories....and some hilarious quotes!

Beware Mighty Mouse (a co-worker) ...gets fiesty when approached by authorities ;)

Me: haha the copier is making mooing noises at me b/c I stole its paper!
co-worker: its mooing? ...wave some steak sauce at it
me: haha that'll make it be quiet for sure!
co-worker: throw in a pair of grill tongs and it will never make another noise

me: think they've fixed (problem causing water shut off in the bathrooms) yet?
co-worker: still weird about an hour ago but good luck!
me: in the words of the scrubbing bubbles, EEEEWWWWW!

So....my cube-mate may or may not have just overshot the cube-neighbor and sent a nerf dart clear across the room...

Is someone making broccoli? It smells like toots!

Is there an NWA for DO_002? coworker: 8 minutes....
(this one was a "had to be there" moment....haha)

Co-worker: When you least expect it, I'll come for you with the Nerf gun. They're Velcro but I wish I had the suction cup ones to stick to your computer monitor. Have you tried to see if they stick?
me: not yet
Co-worker: well, you should so we'd know....that's important.....
me: ....the definition of "important" in the work environment is evidently a bit fluid....
Co-worker: remember... when you least expect it... and the velcro ones... they stick in your hair.

and the good news....4 more days this week to enjoy my wonderful co-workers and perhaps even more Quotes from the Cube Farm ;)

Happy Monday!

Unpredictable

2011-03-26T17:46:00.003-04:00

Loving Francesca Battistelli's "Paper Heart" album! Such an encouragement to my heart!

Unpredictable Francesca Battistelli

Got my thoughts
I got my words
Got this head full of answers
Got You wrapped up
Got You under control
See my future like the past behind me
I think I know where You’re leading
Don’t need no questions
Don’t need no rocking the boat

But I just forget all the mystery
I just forget who You are

(Chorus)
When I know that I know
What You have down the road
When I’m sure that
I’ve figured You out
Help me see that I’m small
That I can’t know it all
‘Cause You’re so unpredictable
‘Cause You’re so unpredictable

You said the foolish
Would shame the wise
To put my faith
In what’s beyond my eyes
And to believe You
I have to come as a child

So help me to rest in the mystery
Of what I can’t understand

(Chorus)

Can’t wrap my mind around You
Can’t put You in a box
Can’t keep You safely contained
You’re gonna move the way
You wanna move today
Just let me follow along

Resurrection and the Life

2011-03-26T17:09:00.003-04:00

At the Young Adult worship/sermon series meeting, Steve is covering the "I Am" statements. He covered I AM the Resurrection and the Life in three segments. The second covered John 11:17-37. (the following taken from my notes)
The passage covers the death of Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha, interacting with Jesus at the funeral. Mary had previously sat at Jesus' feet and washed them with her hair. It takes her longer to come to Jesus with her grief. She stays at the house while Martha runs to Jesus before he gets into town.
In our minds, faithfulness to God means we're protected from certain trials. Martha is crushed and angry demanding to know why He did not save her brother. Neither sister has a full understanding of who Jesus is. At this point, Jesus has not raised anyone from the dead. They've never seen Him act under these circumstances. Bad circumstances do not change how God feels about us. Either God loves us and He is doing whats best for us or He wasn't paying attention.
What happens to your heart when you face difficulty? Do I first try to think of how I could have/can change it? (sin) Do I put my heart, life and trust in God's hands? Where I go in times of trouble shows what I worship.
In John 11:23, Jesus tells Martha that her brother will rise again. Martha has her theology down. She knows about the Messiah but she doesn't understand how this relates to her present suffering. We all have this question. Jesus doesn't draw Martha's hope to the proper understanding of theology. He's taking Lazarus' sisters to a place where their theology is practical not just intellectual. Jesus puts Martha's focus on "I AM"; not on a body of knowledge but on a person; not on her crushed expectations, heartache and frustration but on Jesus Himself.
Martha's beliefs don't penetrate to her life in the here and now. God will bring us to places in our walk with Him where we don't understand to bring us face to face with Jesus Himself and wrestle with Him. Mary didn't face Jesus until Martha came to tell her the Teacher wanted to see her. It took her longer to come to Jesus.
As He asked Mary and Martha, Jesus asks us: "Do you trust me"? "Do you believe"?
How does the reality of my faith get into the nitty gritty of my life?
We're forced to get personal with Jesus as He pulls us out of our complacency. Faithfully and gently, He leads us out past our understanding to places where we have no frame of reference, where we don't know how He works. He's making us trust Him. Sooner or later, in the situation you're in, you'll have to deal with Jesus. Don't pout and say He didn't give you what you deserved. What God has done in the past is a model and a promise for what He'll do in the future but He's too creative to do the same thing twice.
Vs 31, 33 The context of "weep" here as Jesus wept was that of a horse snorting; likely deeply troubled over the lack of belief. They couldn't see things through Jesus' eyes and did not understand God's plan. The Sovereignty of God is never counteracted by and does not discount His empathy. Jesus weeps with them. Though Jesus does not grieve without hope, He's empathetic. Jesus is in the hurt, anxiety, heartbreak with us. Is 53 A man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. God is not in Heaven, arms folded, waiting for us to "get it". He's connected, loving, gentle with those He loves.
God leads us to places we don't understand, where we're angry thinking He didn't show up to glorify Him and deepen our walk.

Risking What is Precious on the Promise of God

2011-03-26T16:33:00.003-04:00

God has always been incredibly faithful to meet me where I am and provide exactly what I need at just the right time. Within days of writing the last post, the lesson in Sunday School and the message at the weekly Young Adult meeting served exactly what my weary heart needed to feast on.
In Sunday School, we're in the midst of a series on Romans. The Young Adult Pastor, Steve, delved into Genesis 12, 15 and 17 to give us background on why Paul was referencing Abraham in Romans 4. The study of Abraham was something I really needed to hear. Abraham (then, Abram) and his wife, Sarah, were called by God to be sojourners. To them, it meant leaving family, land, and with it, any sense of security. God promised Abraham would father a great nation but he did not have an offspring. At the time, they didn't even have the scriptures as the Bible had not been written. All they had was God's self-disclosure. Abraham did not leave as he was instructed. He stayed until his father died. God once again commands Abraham to follow be a sojourner; to put all faith and security in God's promise. Abraham and Sarah were not given any direction or specifics just the instruction to go. Abraham is still seeking security. He sleeps with Sarah's handmaid, Hagar, and fathers Ishmael. He also lies about Sarah being his wife saying she was his sister.
In Genesis 15, at nearly 100 years old, Abraham is still waiting on offspring through Sarah, the child of the promise. "Believe" is seen for the first time in the Bible. The context directly connects this concept to that of righteousness.
This is what began to speak most prominently to me: God confronts Abraham and asks him a heart-searching question: Are you willing to trust me with the deepest desires of your heart? Are you willing to risk what is precious to you on the promise of God?
Abraham is still thinking in the present. Without an heir, what good is the promise of the nations? Without land, how was he to feed a family and have security from which to provide for them?
Clearly, Abraham had disobeyed and was still struggling to follow God's commands and see the fulfillment of the promise. Abraham's life connects here to Romans in that he was not declared righteous because of his works. Romans 4:4-5 God is not obligated to bless for works.
This greatly uplifted me in that Gods plans for me are not dependent on my works (or lack of them). Abraham's path to righteousness (faith) was a rocky one. He fell multiple times. Yet, each time, God picked him up and kept reminding him of the promise, of His good and purposeful plans for Abraham's life.
So even as I get scared to give up what is precious and secure to me, God is ever-present, consistently reminding me of His great plans for my life. I can't mess up God's plans.... my stubborn disobedience may delay what He wants to give me, but the promise remains.

At the Master's Feet

2011-03-12T11:55:00.002-05:00

This seems incredibly cliche and very 8th grade diary but a lot has happened since I last posted anything. I have thought several times about posting notes from great sermons or reflections. Nothing seemed overly pressing to share. Some things were just too personal....God's been working on me a lot especially with trust...I clearly must be missing something b/c I've seen this lesson before....
In an outpouring of His grace, God has once again given me some of the most wonderful, encouraging and steadfast sisters I have ever met. A couple of them in particular have been so sacrificial and patient as they've listened to me process and try to figure out what God has in mind... (yea.... I'll eventually learn my lesson about that one....HA!)
One wise sister reminded me that its ok to cry out literally and figuratively and tell God you don't understand. Ahh....sweet freedom in Christ! He may not tell us why but He'll grant the grace and peace to bear the load.
God has been truly faithful in the last couple of months to meet me in whatever state I happen to be in at the time....there's been a lot of confusion, anger, sadness and yet more peace than I've ever experienced. I know He's flooded my life with grace as I've asked question after question in prayer time. I can remember being in this mental, emotional place two or three years ago. I don't remember having this much peace about God's sovereignty and confidence that the steps I am taking are ordained though certainly not what I would have chosen.
I have felt a mental and emotional shift. Things that were once so important (even escapes to "home sweet Tiger Town") I'm now beginning to recognize as idols. Letting go and moving towards what God has planned (essentially, the unknown) doesn't mean I no longer appreciate things He's used mightily in my life in the past. My mom used to tell me that you have to hold your hands open for God to put something in them which also leaves open the opportunity for Him to take things away to make room...
He's placed me where I am to make an impact for Him. I've seen that so clearly recently. Aspects of ministry that I've asked Him to allow me to take part in are now being granted but not in the way I would have imagined... so often, I don't feel adequate to take on the challenges He sets before me. Though, I'm beginning to enjoy being trusted to take them on and how He'll equip me.
Being a young, female believer in the workplace, for instance, has presented me with the daily question of how to firmly stand by convictions while still exuding a gentle and quiet spirit and loving on others. I've learned a lot watching other believers of how to relate to others no matter where they are faith-wise. A humbling lesson to say the least. I never imagined myself enjoying an environment that requires such a constant spiritual state of readiness.
Overall, God's good. I know that. There's something about Him that's impossible to turn away from. Even when I disagree with His direction, He's still faithful. Even when all I can do is vent and cry, He's steadfast and full of compassion. Sitting at His feet, hearing Him repeat how much He loves me and has a plan for me has become such a sweet joy and privilege.

Passion 2011 Main Session 3: Francis Chan

2011-01-22T09:35:00.003-05:00

(Video-cast notes)

Is 61 Oaks of Righteousness

Rebuild, Renewal, Hope for Haiti

Holy, Holy, Holy -- telling God He's different from us, set apart completely, nothing like him- one being set apart

I Tim 6:15 Sovereign- in control, ruler
meditate on His word- thank God for each breath for 30 seconds- a fragile feeling
The sole being in charge of everything loves me and takes care of me

Phil 1:27
Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel (good news) of Christ --Our response should be worthy- giddy, excited, amazed, filled with joy

Worthy: balanced (as a scale) Good news of the Gospel weighed against your life When they're equal, you're living in light of what you believe

Is 14 satan: "I will ascend"
contrasted: Jesus descended (servant, obedient, sacrifice)
If you are constantly trying to lift yourself up, you are taking on the characteristic of the enemy

Luke 14- Lazarus and the rich man
Rev 20- if you believe the weight on one side of the scale, how does my life look in light of it?
You cant pick and choose what you want to "leave in" the Bible
can people look at your life and tell you believe in hell and that you've been saved from it?
ultimate salvation and joy over rescue

Matt 25 Weight of Glory Jesus' return

can people look at your life and see you believe he's coming back to retrieve only His own?
you don't need to be radical or extreme: make your life make sense- act out what you say you believe
Have so much joy that everyone believes you were saved by a Holy God
Strive side by side -unafraid then the world will believe....

Passion 2011 Main Session 2: Beth Moore

2011-01-22T09:09:00.004-05:00

(Video Cast notes)

Rom 12:1-2 "but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" --> complete

God has allowed us, even as moral creatures, the ability to discern His will. His plan is how he executes that will

Good will: complete for your calling, good for you and to you. We cannot know this will without the renewal of the mind- we cannot just continue to think with our old thoughts and reasoning (natural mind). They must be renewed. It takes the renewal of the mind to discern His will for me.
Anything that impacts your calling or His for-ordained purpose for you on the planet. He has a personalized, specialized will for your life.
There is something you were pre-wired to be most fulfilled by (will of God)
We'll never find it without the renewed mind
I'm here in this generation, in this place, at this time to bring fame to God in my sphere of influence.

I will have to have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to fulfill His calling on my life- it is more than I can humanly, naturally do.
Discerning the will of God is something you fight for in the Spirit, not natural man. Heb 10:35-36 We're sinfully wired for self-preservation. Its not easy or natural to fight and discern (battle and beauty of the mind)

Gen 2:7 Man was formed from the dust of the earth -including the brain
Job 21:6 Impact of the mind-knowing what we're doing and why

Jer 29:11 (KJV) He thinks thoughts towards me (actively)
It is a lie to believe real change isn't possible
children of God can completely change our minds (repentance) =changing your mind in such a way that it changes your actions 2 Cor 10:3-5
Battle and Beauty of the mind is won intentionally -we don't fight with the weapons of the world
"take every thought captive"- to give direction not to cap off
Renew the mind. I would not be more free outside God's control

Stronghold- anything with mastery over you, gets away from you. that you dont often get away from ---jealousy, addiction, rejection, pride, insecurity
It pretends to have more power over us than God

Eph 4:17-19 New Testament definition of addiction- continual lust for more (behavior, substance, thoughts, etc) We try to manage it but it taks over
What we're giving it becomes not enough as it grows- it cries for more, there is no way to contain or manage
2 Tim 2:26 For every plan God has for my life, satan has a plot against it

Is it possible to live in mental victory? Ps 119:133 Let no sin rule over me!
We'll never be sinless on earth but if we cooperate with mental renewal, there is an ongoing sanctification There is enough power in Christ for us to not have to walk with any sin having dominion over us (proactive dominion sin)

I Cor 6:12 I will not be mastered by anything besides the Holy Spirit
destructive and distracting thought patterns
Doing what He's called you to do requires focus on Him- this is a challenge because we have so much going on. There is a need to let distractions go!
to be anointed by His power, we must learn to frequently shut every other door to every pipe trying to pour into the mind

Renew our minds before God- He doesn't yell, His voice is still and small Ps 27:4
The mind must get renewed to hear the one voice that matters JUST DO ONE THING!

Take thoughts captive for Christ so the unlimited capacity of the Holy Spirit will be unleashed on you Memorize Scripture!

We can know Christ Luke 2:18-19
Mary wasnt just amazed as everyone else- she thought it through
"pondered" likened to Joseph's father, Jacob
"keeping in mind" things that happened we cant just stop at amazement, we must stop and dwell on what God's trying to say to us

Destructive patterns
The more we think some way, the more we "burn a path" physiologically
the thought eventually becomes ingrained: the path is paved, toll road with a cost
This can happen with good or bad thought patterns

We can begin to think a new thought about an old situation - renewing of the mind
Think new thoughts about the old thing
Mercy and ministry come out of renewal
Change how you think to change how you feel- change the heart

I Cor 2: 9-10 No mind has conceived what God has intended for us but God has revealed it through the Holy Spirit
Luke 24- Jesus opened His disciples' minds to understand the scriptures

Mark 12:28-30
Love Him with your mind
Give God your mind and He'll blow it for you.

Passion 2011: Main Session 1

2011-01-15T14:25:00.005-05:00

Happy New Year!
Yes, I do realize I'm quite late but as this is the first post of the new year, it's still fitting :)
Last year, I began 2010 at the Passion Conference in Atlanta. Sadly, I was unable to attend this year but the Passion team are such sweet servants to make video casts of the main sessions available! I was able to see all of them! As with last year, I wanted to share what I learned from these clearly gifted men and women of God. The line-up, down to the order, was the same as in 2010! Once again, God's grace and wisdom abounds!
Note: These are my notes from the video cast so they may be a bit choppy but I hope the main ideas are still apparent!

Main session 1: Louie Giglio 2011 (For Louie's 2010 opening Main Session, click here!)
Ps 148 Free and Fully Alive --Making time, etc count for what matters most.
This could be the year that you change the world. Louie used the example of Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerburg, just named the 2010 Person of the Year at only 26 years old
Jesus: eliminate desire for all that doesn't matter.
Phil 1:1 First word: "Paul"
The use of Pauls name as the first word in the book announces that all things can be made knew. When the church read the letter, they knew he used to be Saul, persecutor of the church
Acts 7:54 the crowd is furious with Stephen for speaking out for Christ and gnashes their teeth at him. He declared that he could see Jesus as they approached him. As they dragged him out to stone him, witnesses laid clothes at the feet of Saul. Saul (later Paul-author of much of the New Testament) gave approval to Stephen's death. This is the same man who is writing to encourage the church. God gave him a new name, passion, mission and purpose!
Paul's name is the gospel in one word. God can do anything. God uses his enemies for the greatest things on earth. Its not unlike God to choose anyone and completely change them to be an agent of His name; to change everything about them to set life in motion for His purposes.
God changed Saul's name, identity, opened his eyes to who Jesus is and to the glory of the gospel!
Another Paul letter- Jesus is...
all things created by and for Him
Firstborn
Head of the body
Supreme
All fullness dwells in Jesus

Col 1:21
For once you were enemies of God Christ has reconciled you- Holy, without blemish FREE!
We were ALL enemies of God! Hopeless, in opposition to God
We have stepped into the friendship of God b/c of the work of God.
For He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it
Jesus will complete it! (NOT ME!!)
God is for you, committed

Phil 1:12 Paul states that what happened to him served to advance the Gospel
he was arrested for being a Christ-follower (turn of events from approving stonings of believers to being arrested for being one himself!

Ner0= Roman emperor
responsible for the worst persecution of early church believers
Rome- where all things evil originated

v 13: the whole palace guard came to an understanding that Paul was in chains for Jesus It gave him the opportunity to spread the Gospel through the palace guard
Circumstances have no power over our being free and alive Not even a Roman jail cell! God doesn't care about circumstances- they dont limit Him. Stop complaining! Will I complain or will I see the possibility that circumstances have no power and God will use it for deliverance and His glory?

We preach our own funerals You cant hire anyone to say anything other than who you were and what you lived for
Nothing - not relationships, family issues, changes of plans, roommates etc can keep you from a new start in Jesus!
God has a purpose and a plan! (Jer 29:11)
To live is Christ, to die is gain
Living in the body-Fruitful labor, purpose
Living on earth is more Jesus
No chains on me- difficult circumstances provide opportunities to advance the gospel

Doing our own thing is not freedom, it wraps a chain around our neck
Choose the chain. You'll be a slave to something
Choose Jesus= freedom (being bound to Him)
Jesus is the grace-giver, restorative power
I will chain my destiny to Jesus, let God's presence drown out desire for everything that doesn't matter

Live to the FULL- be prepared to say goodbye to this life; ready, excited to meet Jesus.

Mr. and Mrs. Lancaster

2010-12-25T12:04:00.004-05:00

December 18 was the wedding day of my sweet friend, Becky. I have seen the Lord work so mightily in her life in last few years. Despite great challenge, she has stood firm in the faith. Her wedding day was a celebration of a marriage covenant clearly ordained by God. Watching the development of their relationship has been a great encouragement to me. It was a blessing to be able to take part in the celebration of His faithfulness to use both of their lives to His Glory!

The Greatest Present is His Presence

2010-12-25T11:59:00.007-05:00

As the Denton's wedding was on a Saturday evening, I was able to stay the night to catch up with friends and attend Crosspoint in the morning. God has greatly used Crosspoint in my life for several years now. He continues to do so despite my having moved away. I have been able to attend a service in the Christmas series for the past couple of years and very much enjoyed these. I really love Christmas so reminders of its true meaning are always a joy.

As I've found to be a repeated blessing of visits "home", God had laid a message on Pastor Ken's heart that, by the end, I thought should have begun with: "Dear T," and ended with: "I love you, God". The message is posted at Crosspoint's website, Dec 12, "Visions of One to Come-Messiah King" referencing Isaiah 7:10-17. Definitely worth the time to listen!

In the time of Isaiah's prophecy of a coming Messiah, hearts were shaking from fear of an impending invasion. (7:1-2) This made the promise of a coming Savior all the more an answer to the prayers of a desperate people. Into shaking hearts, God spoke! He spoke a comforting word (v 4-9) and a confirming sign (v 10-14).
Pastor Ken asked three questions in application of the sermon:
1. Who are you trusting in? Idols? yourself? unfaithful leaders? human strategies of self-rescue?
2. Why should we trust in God? (Is 7:7-9, 15-17; 40:21-24)
He is the great judge, holy ruler, the only one who can bring deliverance
There are consequences for not trusting God (Is 30:15-17)
3. How do we fight fear?
1. Fight fear with FAITH (Is 7:9; 26:3-4)
2. Fight fear with the FEAR OF GOD (Is 8:12-13)
3. Fight fear with the WORD OF GOD (Is 41:10, 13-14)
4. Fight fear with PRAYER (Is 37: 16-20)
5. Fight fear with GOD'S SON (Matt 1:23, 28:20; Heb 13:5)

We need a King we can trust and depend on (Is 9:6)
We need a Savior who will save us from our sins (Is 53)
We need an Anointed Preacher who speaks to us the gospel (Is 61)
We need One who will vindicate us from our enemies (Is 63)

His name is Jesus and we celebrate His birth today
Thank you Lord for the greatest present ever given to humanity!

Mr. and Mrs. Denton

2010-12-17T20:57:00.008-05:00

On December 11, I had the privilage to join Clemson friends and the Crosspoint Church family in celebrating the marriage of Matt and Tara. Tara discipled me my senior year of college. As she poured into me and counceled me through a challenging season of my life, I observed her in her relationships and servanthood. She is truly a beautiful woman of God, inside and out. At the wedding, we were able to write a message to the couple. I wrote to Matt that it should come as no surprise that he has an amazing woman. I added an encouragement to keep her laughing and love her well. Having known Matt at Clemson as well and getting to know him more on summer project, I have no doubt that he will live up to his role as a husband, exemplifying Biblical manhood.

Above: Sweet Aliece! Below: Emily and I with the Bride!!!!
It was so much fun to get some girl time with Em and Aliece after the wedding! Love and miss you both!

Pastor Ken and his wife, Robin. Pastor Ken did an amazing job officiating. It was great to catch up with them at the reception!

Becky and Meredith Brides-to-be!! Dec '10 and Summer '11 So excited for these wonderful ladies!

As with so many trips "home to Tiger Town", I left refreshed and encouraged. The wedding, reception and church the next day provided wonderful opportunities for fellowship. I was also able to stop in Anderson and Greenville to visit with Katie, a friend from college and Stephanie, a Summerlink roommate. It's always a blessing to catch up with brothers and sisters I am thankful to consider sweet friends.

I'm a Tiger

2010-11-28T23:14:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was "the big game". Carolina Pride on the line. The Gamecocks came away with bragging rights for the year. Don't get me wrong, I cheer for my Tigers and love it when they win but my time at Clemson (THANK YOU LORD!) was NEVER solely about athletics. Listening to some of the "friendly rivalry smack talk" going on even in my church group the last couple of weeks I was reminded how easy it is to get entirely too wrapped up in the temporary; turning good things into God things (idols).
I really loved the dinner blessing a friend of mine gave after another loss earlier this season: "Thank you Lord that our identity is not in a football team". It was meant mostly in jest but it really set my focus back on why I really love Clemson: b/c of what God did in me and for me there. My identity is daughter of the Most High. I learned so much about this during my time at Clemson.
As I've mentioned before here and here: looking back, I recognize that God did a great deal of spiritual maturing in me during my time in TigerTown. Saying I'm a Tiger brings to mind the faces of many brothers and sisters God has used in my life. I was tremendously blessed to share a season with them; to be poured into and blessed to learn from and follow their examples.
It also reminds me of how great my God is. He ordained my steps to allow me to grow in the knowledge of His Truth and to daily experience His character and His love. God showered His grace on me then, knowing exactly where I needed to be in that time in my life. He knew the people I needed to meet, the surroundings I needed to be in, the trials I needed to learn and grow through. So many times God met me where I was. He continues to shower that grace on me now, building on truths; foundations of which were begun in my college years.
Win or lose, I will always say with thankfulness, I am a Tiger. Its so much more than an athletic record....

Growing and Learning Day by Day

2010-11-20T17:54:00.008-05:00

God is....
sovereign (I Tim 6:14-16), holy (Lev 19:2), worthy of honor and glory (Heb 3:3), forgiving (Ps 86:5), comforter (2 Cor 1:3-4), gracious and merciful (Ps 103:8).....
and so many more things...
God's been teaching me some pretty powerful lessons regarding His power and grace. Fear, anxiety, and discouragement are never tools God uses when He's dealing with us directly to correct and discipline. When faced with these obstacles, I have an instinct to ask what I've done wrong and why God wont answer my cries for guidance. While my attention is distracted by the enemy's lies of "unworthy", "unwanted", "not good enough", "powerless", "defeated", I neglect the truth: God alone loves me so much that He died for me (Rom 5:6).... The devil is the liar, God Almighty is Lord!
I was reminded tonight that my God is mighty but He does not force us to do His will. He is not a tyrant. He is a loving Father. His voice is gentle yet unwavering. He is the God of peace not confusion or fear (I Cor 14:33, 2 Tim 1:7). He may allow the enemy to use these tactics to force me to turn to Himself but He will never love me less or force me into submission. I get to choose Him each day. He offers renewal and grace afresh each morning.
I will stand firm in the faith and in the promises of my Savior. I am washed clean by the blood of the lamb. I am wanted (Ps 139). I am adopted (Phil 3:12). I am justified (Rom 5:9). My debt has been wiped clean and my God has a purpose for me! (Jer 29:11)

"The father of lies....is preaching the song of the redeemed....cursed and gone astray I cannot gain salvation...singing the first verse so conveniently, He’s forgotten the refrain: Jesus saves" (Embracing Accusation-Shane and Shane)

Mr. and Mrs. Timm!

2010-11-07T17:40:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was a beautiful celebration of God's faithfulness as Joshua and Peg joined in the covenant of marriage. The story of how God brought them together is absolutely beautiful. You can read about their love for the Lord and faithfulness to His timing in their own words.
The ceremony, by all American accounts, was very different but this is because they and their guests held a worship service to the Lord in thankfulness for his faithfulness. We sang worship songs along with the bride and groom and prayed over them as a body of believers lifting the marriage of our siblings to the Father for guarding and for use according to His will.

One of the songs was "How Beautiful"
How beautiful the hands that served
the wine and the bread
and the sons of the earth.
How beautiful the feet that walked
the long dusty roads
and the hills to the cross.
How beautiful
how beautiful

how beautiful is the body of Christ.

How beautiful the heart that bled
that took all my sin
and bore it instead.
How beautiful the tender eyes
that chose to forgive
and never despise.
How beautiful
how beautiful

how beautiful is the body of Christ.

And as He laid down His life
we offer this sacrifice
that we will live just as he died:
willing to pay the price
willing to pay the price.

How beautiful the radiant Bride
who waits for her Groom
with His light in her eyes.
How beautiful when humble hearts give
the fruit of pure lives
so that others may live.
How beautiful
how beautiful

how beautiful is the body of Christ.

How beautiful the feet that bring
the sound of good news
and the love of the King.
How beautiful the hands that serve

the wine and the bread
and the sons of the earth.
How beautiful
how beautiful

how beautiful is the body of Christ.

God-honoring couples like Joshua and Peg, which God has graced me to be able to observe, are a continual reminder to wait for His best. He is the great sustainer. His faithfulness is unmatched by far.

Mr. and Mrs. Timm!!

Joshua and Peg have such hearts for the country of India. Joshua served as a Journeyman there for two years; during which, he and Peg sought God's will for their lives as a couple. Joshua also proposed to Peg in India so it was very befitting to see touches of India in their wedding!

Beautiful Clemson girl bridesmaids! I love these ladies!!! I am always so encouraged after time with them! Peg bought their shawls in India on the trip when Joshua proposed! Just one of several beautiful touches of India in their wedding.

Beautiful bride and brides-to-be. It's so encouraging to see my sisters find such wonderful Godly men and to have the privilege to celebrate with them!

Clemson Groundbreaking

2010-11-07T17:17:00.004-05:00

On October 27, I had the opportunity to attend the ground-breaking for Clemson's new Wind-Turbine testing facility in Charleston!! I am so excited about Clemson's presence here but more-so about the purpose. Before I graduated, Clemson opened the ICAR facility in Greenville for testing and innovation in automotive research. They have now moved to Charleston to continue efforts toward renewable resources with wind turbines. As many of the political leaders present noted, this will have a great impact on the economy and job market in the Lowcountry as well as contributions to conservation of our natural environment. The details are much better explained in this article I was so encouraged hearing in the speeches of how the project came together through great collaboration among the University, state and city. Our political leaders fought hard to award $45 Mill to the project which was matched in the private sector with $53 Mill! I was especially impressed, however, with how even political leaders took time to acknowledge that it's God's grace and creation that allows us these resources and that the overall project will make strides in stewarding these blessings. I am continually blown away with the leadership and blessings God has provided to Clemson. He is doing great things with His campus and His people. I am blessed to have attended a university with so many who love and seek to honor the Lord. Father, to you be the glory for all you provide!

Because the project moved onto the old Naval base, the facility already exists! It's wonderful that the actual structure was provided as part of the 87 acres granted by the city but it did mean that there was not an actual "ground breaking" just a symbolic turning over of some fun orange dirt!

Quick Catch-Up

2010-11-07T16:53:00.005-05:00

Hard to believe over a month has passed since I've posted anything. I did think about it. I even still have some great notes from Cru over the summer... To be honest, it's just been a BUSY few weeks!
So, catching up.....first of all, THANK YOU! to those who have prayed for and loved on my family in the passing of my grandfather. We were overwhelmed with the calls, cards, thoughts and generous gifts sent. The family is doing well. Glory to God, Papa is home with Him!!!
What's kept me so busy is a rapid series of changes: the weekend after I returned from my grandfather's funeral, I moved into another house with a couple of sweet girls (much closer to work!!) It's difficult at times not being closer to the church and therefore to friends but overall, its been a great transition! I am continuing to adjust to the new position which has (Praise the Lord!) mostly been smooth.
These are two of the wonderful ladies I work with. My cube-mate is on the far right.

Such a sweet blessing! I am daily learning from her about maintaining a Christ-like attitude in the workplace. I have such a tendency to carry things so much longer than I should. She is an example and reminder to "reset" (as she puts it!) and not carry the little annoyances and aggravations that should barely be momentary especially in light of our purpose here.
We also have a sweet brother nearby who has us laughing most of the day. Overall, I am incredibly blessed to be surrounded by the team that I have. God continues to reassure me that He has a purpose and a plan.

....By those you have trained....

2010-09-28T23:50:00.005-04:00

Reading through my dad' comments at my grandfather's memorial, "you stand relieved by those you have trained" stands out to me. It's so very true of the Christian faith and walk. We must stand the watch, bear the load, fight the battle....and we must train others to do likewise. Part of hearing "well done my good and faithful servant" at our homecoming I'm sure includes the recognition of disciples trained; faithful watchmen ready to stand as their predecessors are relieved, and sent home.

The faithful servant stands relieved

2010-09-28T23:30:00.003-04:00

I joined my family in Suffolk, Va on Monday for the Military Honors burial ceremony honoring my grandfather. It was difficult as all the busyness subsided and the meaning of the ceremony sank in. Though, through tears, we were also reminded that this is a celebration. A faithful servant of our Savior has gone home into the loving arms of his Master. Having observed my grandfather, it came as no surprise but the comments of his pastor were a comforting reminder: there was no doubt in his mind whom he served and where he was going. My aunt commented that Papa wasn't afraid to die. He knew what awaited him. I am so blessed to have this servant leader as the family patriarch.
The ceremony itself was very fitting bringing in both his distinguished military service and his love for Biblical theology and service in the Episcopal church.
My dad's closing remarks carry so much meaning. They captured my grandfather, our Papa, so beautifully. He quoted heavily from a passage known as "The Watch" often recited at the retirement ceremonies of members of the US Coast Guard.

'The Watch'

For those of you who have served in the military, or at home, you know the significance of the “The Watch.” "The Watch” signifies the duty assignments stood (at sea) and the extra vigilance, shown by that sailor.

[Another tradition is] The Passing of the Watch

“Boatswain's Mate, ... stand by to pipe the side." This order has been passed on naval ships from the early 1500's through today ... Spanish, French, Dutch, English. Yes, every navy in the world has used the Boatswain's Call and Side Boys to bring aboard or send ashore its officers, visiting officers and all visiting dignitaries. The Boatswain would pipe the side as the Side Boys lay on or lay off the lines used to raise or lower the boarding platform.

The ship's master or Captain would extend this privilege and honor to port officials to ensure a good berth for his ship while in port. It was not uncommon for the Commanding Officer of a naval ship of the line to order up the jolly boat, eight strong Sailors to man the oars, a Boatswain and Side Boys ... to send an old shipmate and fellow officer ashore ... never to sail a naval ship again.

"All Hands on Deck!", was passed. The crew fell in at parade for muster, ... the Commanding Officer would make a speech ... telling about the retiree's service, ... the great battles fought upon the open sea, ... the victories ... the storms weathered, ... voyages to strange and distant lands, ... ports of call visited that others can only dream about, ... and we would speak of shipmates left behind.

Then the Commanding Officer would present the retiree with a fine sword, .. officers would present him with a brace of fine pistols, a rifle, or a musket. Then the crew would present him with a sea chest, bound in leather and brass, lined with cedar. This was to protect the uniform he wore so proudly those many years. These gifts were to remind him of the ships he sailed, ... the ports he made, ... and above all, to remind him of the crews with whom he served those many years. The Boatswain's Mate would 'Stand Tall' with the Side Boys, the crew was called to "Attention", ... then the retiree would step to the Quarterdeck, salute the Commanding Officer, ... and ... for the last time, request permission to go ashore.

Permission granted, the retiree would step onto the platform and salute the flag he so proudly served, ... as the Side Boys lowered away to the Boatswain's Call. As the jolly boat pulled away from the side, ... the ship's Gunner would fire a final salute from the ship's main battery, ... the retiree would be seated in the stem sheets of the jolly boat, ... going ashore for the last time.

Today, ... we heave to, ... stop all engines, ... lay about smartly, ... drop the anchor, ... and stand by to honor one of our shipmates, ... a shipmate going ashore, ... to honor those years served, ... the guidance, ... the leadership, ... the expertise, ... and ... above all, ... the friendship that this shipmate … son …brother … husband, father has given these past 87 years.

Aye mates, ... for many years, ... this Sailor has stood the Watch, ... while some of us lay about in our bunks at night, this Sailor has stood the Watch, ... while some of us were in school still learning our trade, this Sailor stood the Watch, ... and yes, before some of us were even born into this world, this Sailor stood the Watch. In those years when storm clouds of war were brewing on the horizon of history, ... this Sailor stood the Watch.

Many times he would cast an eye ashore to see his family standing there, needing his guidance and help, ... needing that hand to hold during hard times, but this Sailor stood the Watch, ... he stood the Watch for these 87 years. He stood the Watch so that we and our families and our fellow countrymen could sleep soundly, in safety ... each and every night, ... knowing that a good Sailor stood the Watch. Stood the watch in service to his family, his country, and above all, to his God and to our Lord Jesus Christ in faith.

So, today we are here to say, ... "Shipmate, the Watch stands relieved," ... relieved by those you have trained, ... guided, ... and led.

Shipmate … Dad … you stand relieved.

Mom, We have ... "the Watch."

Welcome Home

2010-09-13T22:03:00.003-04:00

My family lost its patriarch today. My parents called this evening to tell me that my paternal grandfather had passed away in his sleep this afternoon.
I'm thankful to know that my grandfather finished the race. He set the pace in our family being one of faith. I'm sure when he met Jesus, he heard "well done" for how he lived. Though his accomplishments in life are many, including distinguished service in the US Coast Guard, he is known to his family and friends as incredibly humble and kind. I'll remember Papa's sweet demeanor. He always seemed to have a smile or a joke (with the family's famous clever sense of humor). He remains one of the most generous, genuinely caring men in my life.
I lost count of the many offers and statements to make ourselves at home as my immediate family were often guests in my grandparents' home for family gatherings. As long as I can remember, family was a top priority for Papa. He and Nana brought us together for vacations and holidays. I am thankful for the example he set in cherishing family time.
Although it will be hard to adjust to his absence in our family, it is a tremendous joy to know that he no longer has to inhabit his worn earthly body.
Thank you Lord for the blessing of knowing this wonderful man. We will miss him greatly but know you have warmly welcomed your son home.

Happy 36th Birthday East Cooper!

2010-08-29T21:09:00.003-04:00

This week marks the 36th anniversary for East Cooper Baptist Church. To celebrate, the church body gathered tonight for a worship service and fellowship. We spent time giving God praise for His faithfulness since the church's planting and pleading for His guidance for the years to come. A specific petition we brought before the Lord was for ECBC's north campus plant. The campus, which will officially open its doors on September 12, has been named Crosspoint. (reminds me of another wonderful young church :) ) We commissioned the 25 families (still praying for 10 more!) who have committed to transfer their membership to Crosspoint while the new church body grows.
Another uplifting treat for the church family was the reports from the summer mission teams. Each team gave a synopsis of what God did through their trip and showed pictures.
We also had a wonderful time of musical worship which included the choir, contemporary worship band and orchestra!
I really loved a couple of the songs which I've heard before in contemporary worship services.

The Saving One- Starfield
What mercy was revealed
What selflessness and peace
My fate was surely sealed
Until He rescued me
His pardon for my sin
His bounty for my need
From slavery and shame
I am redeemed

And Heaven can't contain
The glory of the Son
Jesus is the Christ, the saving One
His love has made a way
The grave is overcome
Jesus is the Christ, the saving One

No fear can hold me down
Nor darkness steal my joy
For blood has been poured out
The enemy destroyed
Death could not hold Him down
The cross was not enough
To steal away His throne
For He is God

And Heaven can't contain
The glory of the Son
Jesus is the Christ, the saving One

His love has made a way
The grave is overcome
Jesus is the Christ, the saving One

Anyone who calls upon His name
They will be saved
They will be saved
Anyone who calls upon His name
They will be saved
They will be saved

And Heaven can't contain
The glory of the Son
Jesus is the Christ, the saving One
His love has made a way
The grave is overcome
Jesus is the Christ, the saving One (x2)

Anyone who calls upon His name
They will be saved
They will be saved
Anyone who calls upon His name
They will be saved
They will be saved

Our God Saves-Paul Baloche
In the name of the Father
In the name of the Son
In the name of the Spirit
Lord we've come

We're gathered together
To lift up Your name
To call on our savior
To fall on Your grace

In the name of the Father
In the name of the Son
In the name of the Spirit
Lord we've come

We're gathered together
To lift up Your name
To call on our savior
To fall on Your grace

Hear the joyful sound of our offering
As your saints bow down, as your people sing
We will rise with You, lifted on Your wings
And the world will see that
Our God saves, our God saves
There is hope in Your name

In the name of the Father
In the name of the Son
In the name of the Spirit
Lord we've come

We're gathered together
To lift up Your name
To call on our savior
To fall on Your grace

Hear the joyful sound of our offering
As your saints bow down, as your people sing
We will rise with You, lifted on Your wings
And the world will see that
Our God saves, our God saves
There is hope in Your name

Mourning turns to songs of praise
Our God saves, our God saves

Hear the joyful sound of our offering
As your saints bow down, as your people sing
We will rise with You, lifted on Your wings
And the world will see that
And the world will see that
Our God saves, our God saves
There is hope in Your name

Mourning turns to songs of praise
Our God saves, our God saves
Our God saves, our God saves
Our God saves, our God saves

The East Cooper Church family enjoyed quite the celebration of God's goodness. Happy 36th ECBC!

Seeking God's heart, one unsteady step at a time

2010-08-20T22:38:00.001-04:00

Last week, the young adult ministry gathered for an evening of fellowship and worship. I've been so blessed with how God is moving in this ministry! Steve, the Young Adult pastor has such a vision for growth and outreach! He has been meeting with the men weekly in a group setting for the last few months. This was very evident as the guys took very active roles in leading the service. Steve started off by giving us the format: our worship leader (ECBC's Contemporary Worship leader, Kelly, is so gracious in serving us with his time and talents as well) and the band led us in worship through music then two of the guys lead in worship through reading and praying through scripture. I was reminded when Steve announced this element that my mindset should continually include scripture and prayer in worship.
We first read through Ps 138 then prayed through Ps 145 (praise, thanksgiving and supplication)
Our time was very encouraging. At one point, I was reminded of FCA worship services under the stars-feeling so close to His heart surrounded by His fingerprints. I realized though, that its so easy to get caught up in the natural emotions of the moment and to describe something like this in very "pretty" wording. It's so easy to feel the emotions of praise really without genuine heart stirring behind it. God is beautiful. Worship and making much of His glory is breathtaking.
I have found myself asking lately what stirs my praise? Am I stirred with the easy emotion of the moment or am I stirred because I truly understand God's love for me and what it cost Him; reminded of the truth of the Gospel and how great a God that gives this gift. It seems being filled with emotion can actually be a very empty form of "praise".
I fail miserably at this. I have a wandering mind and a selfish heart. I could never give God the praise He truly deserves but sometimes I can't even manage to turn my thoughts to Him long enough to refer to it as anything more than singing....
Kelly mentioned that the recurring concept of the musical worship was God's ultimate gift...I saw it as the continuation of what has been repeated for me lately: His love. I too often miss how personal God is. I see how He's God over all but I miss how gentle, close and loving He is. My personality is very much a "rule follower" and rather black and white in my logic.
I have been blessed to have been exposed to some great theological teaching. I most definitely cherish this as I have learned so much about my faith and my God. However, I think I have also succumb to burying myself in all that is black and white and grasped with enough study. I gloss over the reality of His love.

Beginnings

2010-08-18T20:56:00.004-04:00

God is good! He's provided a wonderful new job! Although I'm grateful for the opportunities that have led me to this point (and for the people God used to give them to me!), I'm very much looking forward to the growth and further open doors that this opportunity provides. This week has started slowly but it has given me a great blessing in downtime to get to know my coworkers. Everyone has been so welcoming and helpful as myself and other recent new hires navigate all that's required in starting our positions. It's also been a very welcome experience as I'm currently working with the HQ team but I will be moving to an off-site location in the next couple of weeks. I'll be working closely and sharing a workspace with another girl who's a little ahead of me in the entrance process. She and I have had some time to get to know each other while she's been at the main office in the afternoons. I feel a bit like I'm getting to know a new college roommate. We've been joking about making our space cozy and inviting with pictures and such. Katie is such a sweetheart. I'm looking forward to spending the workday with her.
Can't wait to see what God does from here!

More to Come

2010-07-27T22:07:00.004-04:00

It seems I've spent the last few weeks either lacking anything worthwhile to write about or lacking the energy, time or and/or sermon notes (I really dislike mutilating what could otherwise be very useful information with a poor memory!) when I have had something of note to relay. I do have wonderful bits of wisdom from Crusade the last few weeks that I am looking forward to sharing. However,as my pillow is currently beckoning for some quality time before that pesky sun rises again beginning a new set of tasks and busyness, here's my best shot at a very brief update:
God's been working on my heart a good bit lately. His method of choice once again being the complete destruction of "my plans". I seem to remember something about those no longer belonging to me...perhaps I should inform my planner brain....(again!) I have recently transitioned out of my position as Marketing Director (though remaining with the company for now). Through various instances, God revealed His hand in my stepping down. I believe this to be an act of obedience to be able to accept and act upon coming direction from the Lord. Of course, recognizing this to be God's will doesn't make this entirely "easy". I do feel at peace....just not sure why something so crazy is so peace-inducing. I am also planning to move across town in October.
Despite a period of relatively high levels of bitterness and confusion on my part, I am starting to once again see the son through the clouds. This summer has proved to be a hard season of testing. God's been showing me sins and generally areas of my life that are most in need of His correction. Most notably, certain "personality traits" and deeply ingrained sin struggles which, in essence, present themselves as high walls guarding against growing intimacy in my walk with the Lord. As I so easily overlook however, the areas most in need of correction are also most in need of a humbled cry for grace.
As the Young Adults discussed in Sunday School a couple of weeks ago, this walk of faith is made of peaks and valleys.
That said, this is something that came to mind a few days ago. I wrote it down and am posting it in the event that someone may be blessed in knowing that they're not alone.

I find myself feeling like a lost hiker. Worn, wandering in the darkness, often grumbling; striving for some semblance of rest, some plateau in the seemingly ever-inclining journey, wanting nothing more than to collapse and end the stumbling. A far cry from the apparently dormant desire to run hard for the tape- to finish the race. Yet, I notice, however small the steps, however minuscule the progress, I AM still moving! The only certainty being that I do so with a strength not my own.

The TaTa Magic

2010-07-05T17:53:00.003-04:00

For those who do not know, the SummerLINK team in India is keeping a blog! (SummerLINKIndia.blogspot.com) The team members are taking turns posting so it is even more fun to read the posts and see whose perspective it is. The most recent post contains a fun video of the team in a taxi called the "Tata Magic". The video definitely made my day so be sure to check it out!
http://summerlinkindia.blogspot.com/2010/07/party-mat.html

"This Little Light of Mine"

2010-06-25T14:45:00.004-04:00

For the visual aspects of Crusade worship last night, the team drew in the theme of flame or light. Backgrounds for the lyrics screen contained images of candles or flames. As the group considered the opposing fruits of broken and unbroken lives from the message, the team presented a creative visual depiction of such a hard-fought truth. All lights in the room were turned off to signal the entrance of five of the students carrying lighted candles. They entered from the back through a center aisle singing: "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine, this little light of mine I'm gonna let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine" continually. They arrived at the front of the room to stand in a row before the group. Five voices strong. Another student dressed in all black entered and approached the first student. He stood close behind her and spoke ..... "You're such a hypocrite, slanderer, no one likes you, you should be ashamed....." He continued this barrage while she sang ...growing more quiet with each stinging statement.....until he delivered the final blow: "not even God wants you, give up"! She blew out the candle and stood in silence.
He moved on to the next student: "No one likes you, you're alone in this world!" Another continued attack until she too blew out her candle upon hearing the oppressive demand to "give up". Next was a male student: "you're disgusting, you hide in the shadows with your pornography God cant use you. Give up!" More attacks, another light extinguish, voice silenced. Two girls remain now. He continues. "Slut, whore, trash. You're worthless" With each individual, the cutting blow is delivered: "not even God wants you, give up". One voice, one light remain. She raises her voice in preparation for the attack: "this little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine....." He descends: "why are you even trying, why don't you give up"? She persists. He increases his intensity: "No one wants to be friends with you, they wont even talk to you"! She holds steady, still singing, still holding her flame. The darkness makes his final attempt and retreats. She passes her flame to the girl next to her who continues it down the line, lighting the chain and once again filling the room with five voices. Light and praise return, no sign of the darkness. The group exits and another girl from the group approaches the mic to read to us from Rom 8. There is "now no condemnation for those who are in Christ". Praise God! She concluded with, "I hope you feel that freedom tonight" ....

Brokenness

2010-06-25T08:44:00.012-04:00

Very much like SummerLINK, the Charleston Crusade project group takes part in corporate worship and hearing from the word as well as fellowship during their weekly meeting (Cru). Also like SummerLINK, they are encouraged to invite guests! I'm so thankful to have been extended an invitation to the last two Crusade meetings.
God's use of timing in ministering to my heart is not only in giving me a group of believers to worship and fellowship with especially in the absence of my small group (in recess for the summer) but also in the timing of my day to prepare my heart for what He wanted me to hear tonight.
During my quiet time today, I felt the need to spend a little more time journaling as God was dealing with my heart on some things. I didn't think much of it until the very same message the Lord was personally preaching to my heart was given again in the meeting! The message was a "special delivery" of grace as it was both very convicting and incredibly freeing!
The evening started out with the testimony of one of the project members, Kim. She began by stating that she wanted to tell us a story about how she fell in love with Jesus. The way she presented herself was so free of any trace of self-centeredness....She's very clearly full of wisdom gained through valleys and trails. I related to her background: Christian home, Christian school, decision at a young age and yet no consistency walking in the faith until college particularly after the breakup of a long-term relationship. A couple of Kim's statements particularly stuck out to me: After realizing that she had not fully submitted her relationship to the Lord, she told Him she didn't have the strength to walk away so she asked God to "either work through the relationship or end it". Such wisdom and beauty in surrender. And such truth. A relationship that is not fulfilling God's purposes is not worth fighting (against God) for. Kim's walk has been getting stronger by the day as she falls "more in love with Him daily". She continues to pray for "a love and passion for Christ that is consistent through ups and downs rather than being dependent on them". This reminded me of a conversation I had with a sweet friend just a few days ago: a needed reminder to seek God to know His character and His heart for His world, His people and His glory not solely for the answer to or delivery from circumstances.
The staff director, Chad, gave the message from the Word continuing the group's study of Romans. Tonight's lesson focused on brokenness from Romans 6 but referencing Romans 5-8.
Chad asked two questions:
1) Does the message of salvation-by-grace-alone lead you to stay unchanged morally?
2) Does the gospel (the message you are no longer "under the law") leave you free to live in any way you choose?
The answer to both is "no"
1) Rom 6:2-14 2) Rom 6:16-23, 7:1-6

and gave "the Faith Formula"
Intimacy w God= (Prayer + God's Word) + Brokenness + (Obedience +Evangelism)
(Faith+Benefits) = (Knowledge of Faith) + Receptiveness + (Acts or Steps of Faith)
Benefits of faith are defined as Fruits of the Spirit

The portion that brought about the most reflection though was the very specific contrasting of Unbroken and Broken People

Unbroken People vs Broken People

unbroken: Focus on the failures of others
broken: Overwhelmed with sense of own spiritual need

unbroken: Self-righteous; have a critical, fault-finding spirit
broken:Compassionate; forgiving; look for best in others

unbroken: Look down on others
broken:Esteem others better than self

unbroken: Independent/self-sufficient spirit
broken:Dependent spirit/recognize need for others

unbroken: Maintain control; must be their way broken:Surrender Control

unbroken: Have to prove that they are right; Claim rights
broken:Willing to yield the right to be right; Yield rights

unbroken: Demanding spirit broken: Giving spirit

unbroken: Self-protective of time, rights, reputation broken: Self-denying

unbroken: Work to maintain image/protect reputation broken: Die to own reputation

unbroken: Desire: to be served, be a success, self-advancement
broken: Motivated to serve others, desire to make others a success and promote them

unbroken: Driven to be recognized/appreciated "The ministry is privileged to have me"
broken:Sense of unworthiness; thrilled to be used at all
"I dont deserve to serve in this ministry"

unbroken: Think of what they can do for God broken: Know they have nothing to offer God

unbroken: Feel confident in how much they know
broken: Humbled by how much they have to learn

unbroken: Defensive when criticized broken: Receive criticism with a humble, open heart

unbroken: Don't think that they have anything to repent of
broken:Continual heart attitude of repentance

Bits of wisdom:
The more I can be broken before God each day, the more I can fall in love with Him
Faith doesn't accumulate, it must be renewed each day.

God's timing....

2010-06-25T00:27:00.015-04:00

Although I've experienced it so many times, God's perfect timing never ceases to amaze me. Displaying His unfailing love, He provides for needs of my heart that I'm not always aware of . This particular blessing comes in the form of fellowship with two new coworkers.
Two of the new summer employees, Amy and Erin, are in town for a 10-week Campus Crusade Summer Project. When I heard that they were on project, we started comparing notes....
The similarities have been fun to find and chat about: both are 10 weeks with the staff departing half way through, their project is a first for CCC: first time being held in Charleston! SummerLINK was the first project Crosspoint Church had ever held. Although the summer project I attended was not organized through Crusade, it was modeled after Crusade projects as our Staff Director is a former CCC staffer. We've had fun chatting about Women's Night, offering suggestions for reflection night and generally sharing our experiences.
It's hard to believe its been two years since I was on project. God used that summer and continues to use the people He put in my life in some amazing ways. I now get the blessing of watching two sweet sisters run hard after the Lord as they serve this city on their own project! Their passion for Jesus and their mission here is so uplifting!
The Charleston group is currently preparing for their staff to leave next week. One of the girls has expressed that they're a bit nervous but excited to find out what God has planned for just the students. I told her the night the staff left was one of the sweetest for me on project. The vast majority (I think we were only missing 3 or 4) of the students gathered in one of the condos and watched a movie together. So simple.... and yet such a sweet memory!
SummerLINK ('08 and those currently in progress) has been on my heart recently. God is using this program in hearts and lives throughout the state and now the world! Just two years later, there are FOUR SummerLINKS: the "flagship" of sorts has moved from Hilton Head to Myrtle Beach for its third summer, SummerLINK Clemson is in its second summer, and this year brings the addition of SummerLINK Greenville (serving with Renewal, the church plant of Crosspoint's former Youth Pastor) and the first international 'LINK to India!! Praise God His ways are so grace-laden! He chooses to use us allowing us to take part in His beautiful master plan. What a privilege!

Daybreak

2010-06-02T07:21:00.004-04:00

My Dad surprised me last week with an opportunity to use some expiring flier miles to come for a visit over Memorial Day weekend. Of course I accepted and found myself heading to Norfolk less than a week later!
One of the main reasons Mom and Dad wanted to invite me home was that my grandmother was in town for an extended visit. My grandmother's sister and her daughter and granddaughter live within a few hours drive of my parents house so they were also there for a couple of days. I wish we'd gotten a picture! We had the two sisters (grandmothers) and their daughters and granddaughters. It was definitely a fun experience to see a piece of my family tree gathered in one place.
I got to town in the early afternoon on Saturday. The ladies were doing some shopping so Dad picked me up and took me to PF Chang's for lunch. It's one of my favorite places to eat but I don't get to go often because the closest to where I live is about three hours away. Definitely a special treat! The group spent the rest of the day exploring some of Va Beach and generally enjoying one another's company. On Sunday, my great aunt and her family had to head back home. It was such a quick visit with them but I was also thankful for some time with just my parents and grandmother whom I don't see often as she's from Michigan. It was so nice to rest and just be together.
To top off the trip, I was able to visit with my Dad's parents on Sunday evening before getting to bed for an early flight on Monday. One of the highlights of the trip though, was the trip back. I had a 6am flight so the sun as just beginning to wake the sky. There was a soft, misty cloud blanket over land mass which was also intertwined with rivers and other bodies of water. It was a beautiful view from the plane! Thankfully, I had my camera in my carry-on!

I was reminded of how small I am in comparison to God's greatness. It was a very comforting, peaceful feeling that the God who created this vast beauty is taking care of me in every aspect of my existence: every heartbeat, every burden. He's in control. Seeing something like this very quickly puts challenges into perspective. God puts on this display of His power, vastness and creativity every morning across the world... What makes me think I need to "help" Him handle the daily "bumps in the road"?

Too good not to share!

2010-05-26T22:50:00.003-04:00

Today's GirlTalk blog packs a great deal of encouragement into a brief reminder. It definitely touched an area of my heart that's grown weary recently.

Part of Something Bigger

2010 at 11:46 am | by Nicole Whitacre
Filed under Biblical Womanhood

On Saturday I attended the out-of-town wedding of my sister-in-law. We drove home on Sunday, and I arrived just in time to witness the birth of a dear friend’s baby girl on Monday. It has been an exhausting and exhilarating week.

But now I have suitcases to unpack (still!), laundry to do, and week-old emails to answer. The adrenalin has drained away, and the days ahead seem downright dull.

These words from John Piper on the book of Ruth place my recent past and immediate future in proper perspective:

“God’s purposes for his people is to connect us to something far greater than ourselves. God wants us to know that when we follow him, our lives always mean more than we think they do. Naomi had no idea in the land of Moab that God was making her the ancestor of the Messiah. For the Christian there is always a connection between ordinary events of life and the stupendous work of God in history.

Everything we do in obedience to God, no matter how small, is significant. It is part of a cosmic mosaic that God is painting to display the greatness of his powers and kingdom to the world and to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places (Ephesians 3:10). A deep satisfaction of the Christian life is that we are not given over to trifles. Serving a widowed mother in law, gleaning in a field, falling in love, having a baby—for the Christian these things are connected to eternity. They are part of something so much bigger than they seem" (p. 121).

Thank God—as Christians, “We are not given over to trifles!” The ordinary events of life and the extraordinary ones are all “part of something so much bigger than they seem." And everything we do in obedience to God is significant.

Kind of changes how I think about unpacking my suitcases.

Reunion

2010-05-07T10:03:00.014-04:00

Two friends from college, Izzy and Katie and I recently reunited for a few days of vacation together! Of course, we returned to Clemson but we also visited Greenville and even spent a day in Columbia! We have not seen each other since we graduated two years ago so this was a long overdue trip! What made it even more special was that Izzy and I surprised Katie with the entire trip for her birthday! We worked together with her parents to make sure she had no idea we were coming! Here are some pictures of our time together!

For our first full day, we spent some time on campus and enjoyed Pendleton Cafe for lunch before driving up to Caesar's Head State Park for some hiking. We stopped at Bald Rock on the way to take in the beautiful views of the Blue Ridge.

Our second day was a day trip to Columbia. We went to the state house, a park on Lake Murray and of course, shopping! (and our other favorite activity, great food!--this was a continuing activity!)

Our third day together was Katie's birthday so we took a slightly slower pace and enjoyed some time in Greenville and Clemson. We walked Falls Park, shopped and ate in Downtown Greenville then went to Clemson for pedicures and a bit more campus time. (Izzy and Katie had two years of campus time to make up!) We were so blessed with great weather throughout our trip! We only changed plans once as we thought the baseball game would be rained out. It ended up played as planned but we preferred our pampering time! It was my first pedicure experience so I especially had fun!

Our last half day was taken by church, lunch at Pot Belly Deli and painting pottery at Glazed in Clemson. We definitely enjoyed this fun, creative experience together.

Though our trip ended all too quickly, we certainly packed our time full of lots of great activities.
It was a very sweet time to catch up on each others lives and share some of our favorite things from college (and a few new things as well!)

Homecoming

2010-05-07T09:54:00.009-04:00

The weekend of April 25, I had the privilege to join Crosspoint Church in Clemson for their Student Appreciation Service and Lake Fellowship baptism service. Student Appreciation commissions the graduating seniors as well as those participating in summer missions all over the world. It was a blessing to see so many friends sent out by the church body. Commissioning services are always needed reminders of the Great Commission not just for those being sent for a specific purpose but for the entire body to live every day on mission. Crosspoint's College Pastor, Jeremy Chasteen, gave a great message on discipleship referencing Matthew 28:16-17. The message focused on the need and command to make disciples as part of the Great Commission. Among other convicting reminders, he spoke of the call to make disciples as a call to do so intentionally. Making disciples involves going- actively determining and serving your Jerusalem (local), Judea and Samaria (state, country), and ultimately, the ends of the earth. The Great Commission is given to every believer. The only real question is: am I faithfully carrying out my Commission?
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the Crosspoint family. The main reason for my visit, however, was to see a good friend of mine, Becky, baptized at the Lake Fellowship. Held at Y-Beach on Lake Hartwell, this is the same service in which I was baptized almost three years ago! It was wonderful to be there for such a big occasion in her life. I spoke with a friend, Ashley, one of Crosspoint's staff, during the fellowship. She said one of her favorite parts of Lake Fellowships is that it feels like homecoming for church members who have graduated or otherwise moved away. It definitely was so for me! One of Becky's friends since childhood Madison, whom I became friends with as we all attended Crosspoint in college, was able to make the trip and we surprised Becky with Emma and her husband, Stephen. It was a sweet reunion with college friends.

My baptism in August of 2007 (it was raining so I got "sprinkled and dunked" haha)

Becky's Baptism April 2010

Madison, Becky, Tracey, Emma, Emma's niece, Reese and our cameraman accidentally lost half of Susan!

Going Heart Deep

2010-04-20T10:25:00.004-04:00

April 11 was ECBC's new Young Adult Pastor's first week in class with us. Steve and his wife, Suzanne, formally met the class and gave us the vision for the ministry. I really love Steve's plans! I was practically bursting inside because it so matched what I had been praying for. Steve's focus is a Biblical worldview; not only growing in knowledge but having this knowledge go "heart-deep". This is something I very much need to cultivate!
During my time at Crosspoint in Clemson, I was exposed to so much Biblical wisdom it was like drinking from a fire hose! I have really missed the college ministry at Crosspoint Church in Clemson since leaving almost two years ago. One of the things I've missed most is discipleship. I love the Biblical concept of not only growing in knowledge but doing life together; accountability. I am thrilled that our new pastor holds the progression of wisdom and knowledge from head to heart so highly.
A big part of Steve's testimony is from his time in seminary. While he was most excited about the great theological teaching to which he'd be exposed, God had other objectives. Steve said he learned that God had brought him to seminary for a degree but more importantly for his own spiritual growth. God stripped him of his love even for good things (such as biblical knowledge and service) that had taken the place of God in his heart. God taught him how to take theology to heart so that it affected his life not just his thinking. He pointed out that we easily fall into trying to manipulate our lives by doing things "faithfully" so that our lives would turn out as we want them to. God is after our hearts - to shape what we love. Steve defined spiritual maturity as the sanctification of our loves.
Our new pastor told us that he wants to help us grow in this area as well; not just having a "Bible verse to throw at a situation" but being led by a heart that is fully surrendered to the Holy Spirit's leading. His outline for ministry is to help us follow God's mission for us: that our love of Him would transcend our lives (our love for the Lord would always be held more highly and defended more strongly than anything else).
I am truly excited for what the next few months will bring. I am starting to see the unfolding of God's purposes for me being here. I believe one of the biggest reasons is to be a part of this ministry at ECBC. Still very much looking forward to God revealing more of His plan for my life. I wonder what it will entail and where He has designed for me to serve....
Lord, please let "heart deep" and "from the inside out" be my focus as I run after You! This walk is so much more than absorbing and reproducing knowledge... I want to not only love Your word but to be consumed with its author! Take me deeper to know and love You more. Releasing all else including control and my plans may be a frightening leap of faith but its entirely worth it!

A Purpose in Every Season

2010-03-21T14:58:00.013-04:00

There was an absence of God's voice and presence (about 400 years if I remember correctly) following the return from exile.... Generations must have begun to believe they'd been forgotten by God. Talk about hope deferred! Being in a season of waiting on God for next steps can be so frustrating. Even a child of God can struggle with perception of abandonment! Believers are never meant to feel settled in our temporary home and lets face it, this walk with the Lord is often full of twists and turns we never see coming!
Although God's been making it clear to me that He's very much still by my side, I'll admit I'm getting a bit anxious for some direction and long-range goals! Thankfully, by His grace, as I've been seeking the Lord about next steps He's been so faithful in gently speaking to my heart: not yet, be at rest, stop striving...comforting yet difficult to accept for a planner!
Some sermons and (as always) music have really ministered to me in this time. Podcasts are such a great companion for roadtrips and sometimes the daily commute or errands. What a blessing God's given in some technology! I love being able to redeem this time to set my thoughts on greater things.
Here's a few snippets from sermons that have ministered to me in this season of uncertainty (somehow I feel as though a bit of uncertainty is meant to be a constant in this walk....) At Passion, Beth Moore pointed out that a believers primary call is to the Savior. He'll reveal the rest in time. Louie Giglio spoke on "Twenty-something or Twenty-someONE" and "Left-turns, detours and the Sovereignty of God" from Passion City Church. Louie brought out the truth that God cares more about my character than my calling. Jon Ludavina at Midtown spoke on singleness as a grace gift. These messages have uplifted me with the truth that I am where I am for a reason.
This season of my life is an amazing opportunity to pour out everything I am for Christ. I have more resources: time, money and flexibility than I will never have in any other season..."Twenty somethings" are creations and tools of God. My generation could make a huge impact for the kingdom if we accept this calling. That starts with individual surrendered hearts.
There's so much talk in the Christian community about a call to go.....what about a call to stay and have an impact in a place you don't necessarily feel attached or drawn to? I don't know if this is a long or short term assignment....either way I want this time to be characterized by an increasingly intimate walk with the Lord.

Global Impact 2010 Missions Conference

2010-03-02T08:46:00.010-05:00

The weekend of Feb 26-28, my church held its annual missions conference: Global Impact 2010. This was my first year attending the conference.
The church as a whole is very missions-oriented. Our senior pastor and his family travel to various churches overseas over the holidays each year to personally encourage our partners there. Pastor Buster does his best to keep the body informed of what God is doing through our brothers and sisters serving the ends of the earth. I love that my church leadership has such a heart for missions and believes it important to share as much as possible with the congregation. However, there is really nothing like speaking with our missionaries themselves! I thankfully had Friday off so I was able to spend time with members of my church family preparing for the opening of the conference. The head chef at the church is wonderful! He's such a joy to serve with and so generous to his volunteers! Chef Bob invited us to take a lunch break at the Missions Luncheon. We were given the opportunity to have lunch with the visiting missionaries and the pastoral staff. When I came in, I joined my community group leader another of the girls from the Young Single Adults who are on staff at the church. They were already speaking with a missionary from Afghanistan. It was so refreshing to hear his first-hand account of the mission field. The conversation was very encouraging and eye-opening. Laborers are very wise with resources. I'm looking forward to the growth of this ministry!
Following the banquet on Friday evening, the church gathered for the opening session of the conference. Our main speaker gave us a challenge: put your "yes" on the altar before the Lord. Even before the Lord asks, tell Him that you will follow wherever He leads. It's easy to quickly say yes and dismiss the concept a part of the Christian walk. The speaker encouraged us to take the appropriate time to consider and understand what this entails. If possible, he encouraged taking a day to get alone with the Lord to find out what we may need to say no to in order to say yes to God. This also includes the possibility of saying yes to overseas service.
On Sunday, the Young Single Adults class was blessed to have a missionary from Thailand. He and his family are such examples of God's grace. When he first approached his wife about full time missions in Thailand he found that God had already been preparing her heart to say yes! They adopted a baby boy about 9 years ago finding that they couldn't have children naturally. Around 6 years ago, however, God blessed them with a brother for their oldest son. It was certainly a sweet surprise when a Buddhist nurse told them that God must be involved because she was pregnant!
I very much enjoyed hearing of the college ministry in Thailand. It's such an encouragement that their team now includes so many nationals.
Later that evening, the YSA class again had the opportunity to spend time with the missionaries. We heard from a couple who had served in Bosnia and Croatia. They describe the opportunity as one of the best seasons of their lives. I hope I view opportunities God presents to serve Him as such a great privilege and blessing.
We closed the conference on Sunday as a church body. Pastor Buster told us that our church family would be focusing more resources including laborers to India!! I feel such a personal connection to India knowing friends who are currently serving there or are currently making plans to serve there. I'm looking forward to how God uses this commitment from our church leadership.
During the conference worship sessions, our worship leader lead a song I was introduced to at the Restore Conference in Clemson last year. I love the lyrics as they relate to missions

Lord, let us pray Kingdom Come prayers and live with a Kingdom mindset!

Let Your Kingdom Come

Words and music by Bob Kauflin
As recorded on Valley of Vision

Your glorious cause, O God, engages our hearts
May Jesus Christ be known wherever we are
We ask not for ourselves, but for Your renown
The cross has saved us so we pray
Your kingdom come

Let Your kingdom come
Let Your will be done
So that everyone might know Your Name
Let Your song be heard everywhere on earth
Till Your sovereign work on earth is done
Let Your kingdom come

Give us Your strength, O God, and courage to speak
Perform Your wondrous deeds through those who are weak
Lord use us as You want, whatever the test
By grace we’ll preach Your gospel
Till our dying breath

Birthday Week

2010-02-19T18:43:00.010-05:00

With each passing birthday, I value memories more. Memories with those I love have become some of my favorite gifts. My birthday this year was very low-key but I enjoyed it as such! I had several opportunities throughout my "birthday week" to spend quality time with wonderful friends who have blessed my life over the last few years.
One of the many things my discipler, Tara, taught me my senior year of college was to "embrace the birthday week". For me, this has meant a weekend trip the last couple of years to celebrate with dear friends. Last weekend, I had my first experience driving through the snow at night! I was definitely thankful to be in Columbia after a 4 hr drive that usually takes 2! I thankfully got there safely and spent the evening with Meredith and her roommates watching the Olympic opening ceremonies. One of Meredith's roommates and I were in a small group Bible study together our Sr yr of college. One of the other girls from that group also lives in Columbia. She spent the night as well so the next morning was a lot of fun spending time with everyone!
The next morning, we woke up to a white blanket still largely intact. A group of us walked down to the State House and built a snowman there!

I left Columbia around noon and headed up to Clemson (where I'd intended originally to be Fri night but I loved the detour!) I had dinner with 3 other girls from college. We all have birthdays within two weeks of each other; 3 of us within a week!

It was great to catch up and just spend some quality time with ladies I respect and love so much. We went to Fatz cafe and of course loaded up on the awesome rolls and all sorts of yummy birthday food. The waitress even brought each of us a strawberry shortcake for dessert!

After dinner, we went back to their townhouse and had a couple other girls over. We ended up chatting and watching the Olympics. I really wanted my birthday to be kinda low key surrounded by friends so I loved it! After church at my old Clemson home church, I had lunch with one of the girls from my Passion family group! She's a sophomore at Clemson. It was so good to catch up with her in person! I usually end up making my way back home slowly visiting friends along the way so of course for my birthday trip I had to as well! I had coffee with one of my Summerlink roommates on my way through Greenville then stopped back in Columbia to go to church with Meredith. Her church meets at night and they were starting a new series she wanted me to visit for. I got back around 10ish pretty tired but thankful for a great trip.
The birthday celebration continued on Wed with my community group! They were so sweet in "changing the venue" for our usual meeting time to go out to dinner. We went to a little restaurant downtown that we all really enjoy. It was wonderful to have some time to just catch up on each others lives and enjoy some great fellowship!

On my actual birthday, I enjoyed a relaxing morning before going to work in the afternoon. I had the following day off which I spent relaxing, running a few errands and spending time with my roommates.
My birthday is just one of many days that I'm so blessed by family and friends who consistently remind me of how much I'm loved.

Birthday

2010-02-18T23:33:00.010-05:00

Those who know me well know I'm not prone to waves of emotion....Every now and then though, something really grips me. That happened tonight as I was moved to tears by a birthday card from my parents. Its a music card that plays "My Wish" by Rascal Flatts. I've heard the song and I do like the lyrics. What moved me was thinking of the sentiment from my parents' perspective. They've been so encouraging throughout my life but especially now as I've been trying to navigate this "adult world". I cant express how thankful I am for parents who pray for me encouraging me to wholeheartedly pursue God's plan for my life. It's been hard on all of us for me to live so far from home. I do know I'll always have a place in their home. I think, though, it takes stronger parents to encourage their most precious gifts to venture away from what is secure and familiar.
I'm so blessed to have parents who desire above all else to see me walk closely with the Lord. Thank you mom and dad for all you've done to encourage my growth spiritually, mentally and emotionally. I love you so much!

My Wish- Rascal Flatts

.....more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

I hope you never look back, but ya never forget,
All the ones who love you, in the place you left,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
And you help somebody every chance you get,
Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,
And you always give more than you take.

But more than anything........

Passion 2010 Main Session: Louie Giglio

2010-02-18T23:30:00.005-05:00

Louie Giglio gave the final main session message of Passion 2010.
Phillipians 2:1-11
Considering others more important than ourselves we need to have the same view as our example, Jesus.
Having a theological not an emotional turn-around of the way we view who God is and how He relates to me produces zeal!
The goal is not to be more moral etc The goal is to think and see like Christ- to act and respond like Him
Jesus took on the nature of a servant humbling Himself to death.
God's wrath had to be satisfied- someone had to die
....and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, (a COMMA not a period!) to the glory of God the Father
Are you putting faith and trust in Him now? The question isn't "when" its "are you"?
I'm surrounded by a bigger story-- the glory of God

Paul is writing from jail celebrating that the church was living for Christ while he was not with them.
Can 2010 make it back to towns, relationships, campuses, workplaces?

We dont need more input- God gave us everything in Christ- We need more output.
Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in you
The living GOD is at work in you!
the will and the ability to act according to His great purposes

Surrender (to be His grace in me) not promise
"I cant but you can"
dying to the self trying

Do everything without complaining or arguing so that you may become blameless and pure
still something to be had for being like Christ in this world
our generation took the wrong path
my mouth, hands, face display the living God

Passion 2010 Main Session: John Piper

2010-02-16T22:03:00.002-05:00

One of the many ways Pastor Piper ministers is by sharing the notes for his sermons in the resource library of DesiringGod.org. Passion 2010 was blessed to have him as a main speaker and that he posted his notes! Here they are!

Is Jesus an Egomaniac?
Passion 2010
Atlanta, Georgia

By John Piper January 4, 2010
Erik Reece is writer-in-residence at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, teaching environmental journalism, writing, and literature. He published a book last April entitled, An American Gospel: On Family, History, and the Kingdom of God. On May 13, 2009, he did an interview on National Public Radio with Terry Gross on the program Fresh Air about his book.
What he said is in large part why I am giving this message the way I am. It wasn’t the first time someone had said this. But it may have been the most recent and most public and most blatant. And just so you know, I wrote to Mr. Reece a long letter with my concern in the hope that I could give him another perspective.
Reece grew up in a fundamentalist Christian home, like I did. He rejected his. I loved mine and give thanks for it to this day. The background paragraph at the NPR website said that he struggled to find a different form of Christianity with the guidance of Thomas Jefferson, Walt Whitman, and other American writes.
Jesus Christ, Egomaniac
In the interview, Terry Gross pointed Mr. Reece to page 28 of his new book. On that page, he quotes from Jesus in Matthew 10:37-39.
Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Then after quoting Jesus, Reece says, “Who is the egomaniac speaking these words?” Terry Gross asks him, “Would you elaborate on that reaction?”
Reece replies, “Well, it just struck me as ‘Who is this person speaking 2000 years ago, a complete historical stranger, saying that we should love him, (who we are really incapable emotionally of loving) more so than we should love our own fathers and sons?’ It just seemed like an incredibly egomaniacal kind of claim to make.”
So in his book, he says that if Jesus talked like this, he is an egomaniac, and then in the interview, he confirms that conviction that someone who would talk like this is egomaniacal.
So here is Jesus saying: “Love me more than you love anyone in the world. If you don’t you are not worthy of me.” And Erik Reece says: “That is an egomaniac talking.”
Now Reece is not the only one who feels that way.
Like a Vain Woman Wanting Compliments
C. S. Lewis, eventually professor at Oxford and great writer of Christian apologetics and fiction 60 years ago, was slow to come to Christ. He was 29 before he was converted.
And he says in his book Reflections on the Psalms that one of the great obstacles in coming to believe in the God of the Bible was that when he read the Psalms, the constant demand from God to praise him seemed (to him) to picture God as craving “for our worship like a vain woman who wants compliments.”
In other words, he stumbled, just like Erik Reece, over the self-exalting commands of God that we praise him, and the self-exalting commands of Jesus that we love him more than we love our parents or our children or our own lives. To Lewis and Reece, this was sheer egomania.
Human Tyrants Crave Adulation
Almost seven years ago in the March 30, 2003, issue of the London Financial Times, Michael Prowse wrote the same thing from another vantage point:
Worship is an aspect of religion that I always found difficult to understand. Suppose we postulate an omnipotent being who, for reasons inscrutable to us, decided to create something other than himself. Why should he . . . expect us to worship him? We didn’t ask to be created. Our lives are often troubled. We know that human tyrants, puffed up with pride, crave adulation and homage. But a morally perfect God would surely have no character defects. So why are all those people on their knees every Sunday?
Or if he were here, he would say, “Why are these 20,000-plus students standing with their hands and their voices lifted in praise to a God and his Son who are such egomaniacs that they constantly demand that we think they are the greatest?
Why are all these young people cowed into doing just what these egomaniacs want them to do, namely, admire them and praise them above everybody else in the universe?
Until He Said, “Jealous”
My wife and I had dinner last night with Francis and Lisa Chan, and I was telling them about this talk and Oprah Winfrey came up as another example of someone who left traditional Christianity because of seeing God this way.
So I went back to my room and called up the You Tube clip of her statement and wrote it down. Here’s what she said. She was describing being in a church service where the preacher was talking about the attributes of God, his omnipotence and omnipresence. Quote:
Then he said, “The Lord thy God is a jealous God,” I was caught up in the rapture of that moment until he said, “jealous.” And something struck me. I was 27 or 28, and I was thinking God is all, God is omnipresent, God is . . . also jealous? A jealous God is jealous of me? And something about that didn’t feel right in my spirit because I believe that God is love, and that God is in all things.
In Exodus 34:14, God says, “You shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” In other words, God demands that you and I and Oprah Winfrey give him all our worship. If we give any of our worship to another, he is jealous, and if we don’t repent, he will break forth in wrath. “For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God” (Deuteronomy 4:24).
So Erick Reece and the early C. S. Lewis and Michael Prowse and Oprah Winfrey all turned away from the God of the Bible because they thought he was too self-exalting. Too self-centered. Too much the egomaniac.
Such a Self-Exalting, Self-Centered God
I heard Don Carson, New Testament scholar from Trinity Seminary near Chicago, say a while back that as he has done evangelistic outreach on university campuses, the questions have changed over the years. Thirty years ago they tended to revolve around historical problems with Christianity.
Nowadays it is represented by questions like, How can you worship a God who so self-exalting and so self-centered as the God of the Bible—a God who is constantly pointing to his own greatness and constantly telling people that they should recognize this greatness and tell him how much you like it?
Touching the Very Center of Christianity
I don’t think that what we are seeing here is a small, marginal, or tricky opposition to Christianity. I think what Erik Reece, C.S. Lewis, Michael Prowse, and Oprah Winfrey are seeing touches the very center of Christianity.
If you say in response: I thought Christ crucified for sinners and risen triumphantly was the heart of Christianity, you would be right. Paul said, “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).
That’s true. But the amazing thing is that it’s the intersection of God’s apparent egomania with the human condition of sin that makes the cross of Christ necessary and makes it intelligible and reveals the deepest things about God in the death of Christ.
So we are not dealing with something small here or marginal, but something central and crucial.
God Lives for the Glory of God
I didn’t face this issue until I was about 23 years old—40 years ago now. I had grown up in a Christian home where I was taught 1 Corinthians 10:31, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” So it was clear to me that I should live for the glory of God.
But no one ever said to me that God lives for the glory of God. Then I read Jonathan Edwards’s The End for Which God Created the World, and everything changed. He simply blew me away with page after page of biblical texts showing God’s pervasive God-centeredness. That God does everything for his glory. That he is unwaveringly committed to uphold and display his glory.
And what became clear to me, and remains clear to this day, is that many Christians think it is good for us to be God-centered, but don’t feel at all comfortable with God being God-centered. We should be Christ-exalting, but Christ shouldn’t be Christ-exalting.
God’s God-Centeredness as the Test
What I have found in my own life, and in the life of many others, is that God’s God-centeredness is the test of whether our own God-centeredness is real: Do I rejoice in God’s unwavering commitment to uphold and display his glory—do I rejoice in God’s God-centeredness? Or am I God-centered only because deep down I believe God is man-centered, so that my supposed God-centeredness is really man-centeredness, even me-centeredness?
Does my opposition to God’s God-centeredness reveal that my supposed God-centeredness is just a cover for wanting myself at the center, and the use of God to endorse that because he is so centered on me?
God’s Radical Devotion to Himself
Reading the Bible with these eyes, I began to see what Erik Reece and C.S. Lewis and Michael Prowse and Oprah were seeing. God really is radically devoted to seeing himself exalted. God is radically committed to seeing that his glory is esteemed as the supreme value of the universe.
Here is a sampling of what I saw.
God creates for his glory.
Isaiah 43:6-7: Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, every one who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory.
God elects Israel for his glory.
Jeremiah 13:11: I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, says the LORD, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory.
God saves them from Egypt for his glory.
Psalm 106:7-8: Our fathers rebelled against the Most High at the Red Sea. Yet he saved them for his name's sake that he might make known his power.
God restrains his anger in exile for his glory.
Isaiah 48:9-11: For my names sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you . . . . For my own sake, for my own sake I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.
God sends his Son at the end of the age for his glory.
2 Thessalonians 1:9-10: He comes on that day to be glorified in his saints and to be marveled at in all who have believed.
In all of redemptive history, from beginning to ending, God has this one ultimate goal: that his name be glorified. The aim of God in all that he does is most ultimately the praise of his glory.
All of redemptive history is bookended by this amazing purpose in God the Father and God the Son. And in the middle of that redemptive history stands the greatest event in the history of the world, the death of Jesus Christ.
And just at these points—the beginning and the ending and the middle (predestining of our salvation at the beginning, and the consummation of our salvation at the end, and the purchase of our salvation at the middle)—just at these points the problem of God’s apparent egomania finds its amazing solution.
God’s God-Centeredness from Start to Finish
Consider a passage of Scripture about each of these points—the beginning (predestination), the ending (consummation), and the middle (propitiation).
Beginning: Ephesians 1:4-6
God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace.
Before the foundation of the world, God planned a redemption in Christ with this great and ultimate goal: that we would praise his glory. And the apex of that glory would be the glory of his grace.
So from the very beginning, we see that God made his exaltation and our salvation one piece. You don’t have to choose between God’s glory and your joy, because the apex of your joy is praise, and the apex of his glory is grace.
What We Delight to Do
C. S. Lewis broke through to the beauty of God’s self-exaltation (thinking at first that the Psalms sounded like an old woman craving compliments). He finally saw something very different:
My whole, more general, difficulty about the praise of God depended on my absurdly denying to us, as regards the supremely Valuable, what we delight to do, what indeed we can’t help doing, about everything else we value. I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. (C. S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms [New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1958, 93-95])
Lewis saw that praising God is the consummation of joy in God. Therefore, when God is pursuing—even demanding—our praise, he is pursuing the consummation of our joy.
This may feel at first counter-intuitive—that when we are small and feel insignificant, while God is great and central, at those very moments we reach our highest joy. But it’s not counter to our deepest sense of where joy comes from. John is not in thinking highly of ourselves. Joy reaches its height in moments of self-forgetfulness in the presence of beauty and greatness.
So if Jesus wants you to feel most alive, most joyful forever, what would he show you?
Ending: John 17:24
Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
When all is said and done, and the history of the world is complete, and the new heavens and the new earth are established, and the infinitely joyful age to come is here, the ultimate joy, the ultimate climax of history for our aching hearts, is “we will see his glory,” and we will be transformed by it into the kind of people who can enjoy it fully and not be incinerated by it.
When Jesus says, “Love me more than you love your mother and father and sons and daughters and your own children and your best beloved on earth,” he is not hurting anyone!
Jesus Is Saying…
He is saying: If you find your ultimate joy in your most cherished earthly treasure, you will be disappointed in the end, and I will be dishonored. Because I am offering myself to you as the all-satisfying beauty and greatness and wisdom and strength and love of the universe. I am what you were made for. And I am telling you that, if you see this—if you see me as your supreme Treasure—then you don’t have to choose between your satisfaction and my glorification, because in the very act of your being most satisfied in me, I will be most glorified in you.
Jesus continues, “When I pray for you, that in the end you will see my glory, it is simply because, as God, I am infinitely glorious, and I want you to see infinite glory and enjoy it. I want you to be with me and be satisfied in me. I am not an egomaniac. I am your all-satisfying friend.”
The Great Problem of Sin
But of course, there is a great problem—and this is that we are sinners. Not only do we not want to treasure someone above ourselves, we don’t deserve that privilege. And so how will sinners like us be able to stand in the presence of God and enjoy his greatness as our all-satisfying Treasure?
Which brings us now to the middle of history and the work of Christ on the cross.
The Cross at the Center
The center of God’s plan—from beginning to end—stands the mighty cross of Christ. And in it we see the clearest statement of God’s passion for his glory—precisely and amazingly in the salvation of sinners. Romans 3:23-26:
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Note the argument:
What God did: He put Christ forward as propitiation by his blood (verse 25a). Christ died to remove the wrath of God.
Romans 8:3: “What the law could not do . . . God did: . . . he condemned sin in the flesh.”
Galatians 3:13: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.”
Why did he need to do it this way—by dying on a cross? Verse 25b: “This was to show God’s righteousness.” Why did he need to show his righteousness? Verse 25c: “because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.”
Why does passing over sins call God’s righteousness into question? Verse 23: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. “Fall short” means “lack.” We have exchanged the glory of God in every sin (Romans 1:23). Every time we sin, we say that the glory of God is not the supreme Treasure to be desired above all others. It is not satisfying. It is not to be preferred.
When God passes over that, it looks as if he agrees. And if he agrees, he is unrighteous. He is wrong. He is acting in contradiction to what is true. His righteousness—his commitment to doing what is right—is his commitment to act as though his glory is supremely valuable, which it is. His righteousness is his commitment to upholding and displaying the infinite worth of his glory. And that is what the cross does.
God Is Passionate for God
Therefore, from beginning to end—from predestination before creation to the final state of contemplation of the glory of Christ at the end of history—God is passionate for his glory.
In the center of that history, the greatest event that ever happened, the death of the Son of God for sinners like us, is the demonstration of God’s righteousness—the demonstration of his unwavering commitment to uphold and display the infinite worth of his glory as the supreme Treasure of the universe.
Forgiveness for His Name’s Sake
Which means that now when we come to him for mercy and cry out to him for the forgiveness of our sins we do it for his name’s sake—for the sake of his glory.
For your name’s sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great. (Psalms 25:11)
And we hear the promise from 1 John 2:12, “[Y]our sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.”
The greatest news in the world is that in the death of Christ, God has made a way for his name to be exalted and my sins to be forgiven in the very same act. God is both just and the justifier of him who has faith in Jesus (Romans 3:26).
The Foundation of Our Salvation: God’s Value
And what makes this so spectacular is that the foundation under our salvation is not our value but God’s value. The consummation of our salvation is not that heaven is a hall of mirrors where we like what we see, but that we will be glorified and the universe will be glorified to the point where we can fully enjoy the glory of Christ.
Here is the end of the matter: God is the one being in the universe for whom self-exaltation is not the act of a needy ego, but an act of infinite giving. The reason God seeks our praise is not because he won’t be fully God until he gets it, but that we won’t be happy until we give it.
This is not arrogance. This is grace.
This is not egomania. This is love.

Passion 2010 Main Session: Andy Stanley

2010-02-16T22:02:00.000-05:00

It's always a mistake to determine what you want to be before who you want to be
Most spend too much time on what they'll do and who they'll be with
Who you are will determine what you'll do and achieve
My talent, education, drive has the potential to sweep me past what my character can maintain

Who a person is on the inside always impacts the other aspects Who you are on the inside will dictate what people associate with your name

You will never be that mouthpiece if you lose sight Your being will always influence your doing
There is no guarantee you'll stay passionate about the things of God unless you refuse to lose sight of this truth

Daniel 6:3-5
Daniel- Hebrew, slave in Babylon, the king gave him leadership, treated him as a Babylonian because of his intelligence and skills
Daniel is recognized for management etc skills
the men around him got jealous and tried to malign him- unsuccessfully- they found no corruption in him because he was trustworthy
They thought they couldnt find anything unless it deals with the law of his God

Laying a foundation to be a leader in the generation- people look past what you do to see that your character backs it up (nothing could be found in Daniel)

8 things you'd want said at your funeral about who you were
honest- foundation of all relationships
ask why? whats at stake if I'm not?
pure- mind, heart, soul, body What's at stake?
generous- whats at stake?

dishonesty undermines the integrity of relationships
purity paves the way to intimacy - way bigger than a bad memory
generosity ensures that the things you own never own you

these words form an invisible barrier around behavior- going outside of it
For the sake of achievement becomes too much of a risk Too much at stake
Failure because intimacy, integrity etc is at stake

What you want said about you at your funeral is your personal definition of success

What wont you sacrifice? (things God wants for you)
What kind of person will you choose to become? What type of leader?

The question is not what you'll do Its what values do I want to form a perimeter around my behavior
Within that perimeter there's freedom to achieve

What are my non-negotiables?
Get this right and you'll be a leader worth following
Who has God created me to be?
God is working with me and in me to mold me into who He's created me to be

Passion 2010 Main Session: Francis Chan

2010-02-16T21:58:00.000-05:00

Day 2 Evening Main Session was Francis Chan
This was one of the messages that stuck with me the most.

Some saw Jesus raise Lazarus and still chose to deny- some are hardened soil
2 Pet 3:1 Stir up your sincere mind with a reminder
God will still get you there after wrong turns It may take a little longer and you'll have to listen but He can and will
*illustration of a GPS "recalculating"

Read with reverence for the Word of God
Is 66:2 He looks for the humble, contrite in spirit who trembles at His Word

Matt 17--Transfiguration Peter, James, John on the Mount with Jesus
Do you know what you're asking when you ask God to speak to you? The voice of God

2 Pet 1:16-21 Peter heard the actual, audible voice of God He says we have something better, more sure
The Word of God- its true yesterday, today and tomorrow
Crave the Word. Read and tremble

What we see and call "church" and "Christian" in society is different from whats in the Word

II Pet 1:1 Peter writes that he's writing to people of equal faith standing- my faith is of equal standing with Peter, an apostle!
I am not some less loved kid I am just as much a child of God as any and all of my siblings even apostles and the great theologians and teachers of modern day

When others look at my life- the grace and peace- do they wish they had my (Heavenly) Father?

v3 His Divine power has granted us all things pertaining to life and Godliness
If you believe this as God's Word and you're not living a Godly life, its your own fault
He's given me everything I need to live a Godly life walking with Him
when you mess up, confess it Stop making excuses and explaining why its so hard

God's Word says I am a partaker of Divine nature v 4

II Pet 2:20-22 A pig will be a pig unless his nature changes he'll go back to the mud
He's referring to those in spiritual culture (getting "hosed off") but not getting a new nature

Rom 2:4 God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance
anger, addictions, lack of kindness....
If the Holy Spirit (new nature) is in you, you have the power over these things

Passion 2010 Main Session: Beth Moore

2010-02-16T21:54:00.002-05:00

The speaker for the morning main session on Day 2 was Beth Moore. She focused a lot on what God uses to equip His children for His purposes I recently finished reading through Hebrews (one of the main books she used) Its essentially full of redemption history: the difference between life under the law and freedom in Christ after His sacrifice that bought our lives.

Luke 24:45 Love for God is a gift of the Holy Spirit
Hebrews 13: 20-22 God has a specific, individualized plan for my life
vs 21: equip
What does ministry look like? How does it play out? (practically)
time plays a huge role
What do you what me to be? Who have you called me to be?
My life fits into the kingdom purpose plan
He has promised to equip us as He fulfills His will through His plan for individuals. The author of Hebrews packs everything back into the benediction
God's will for me is good! Let that sink in Phil 1:6z
Good= beneficial
I'm here to do good- leaving the world better after I'm gone
Greek for equip--> (broader in greek)
prepare, adjust, fit, readjust, supply, mend, complete

4 ways He equips:
1) By preparing us
He's been preparing for me since the creation of the universe
Eph 2:10 He prepared our works in advance
2 Tim 1:5-6
2 lines/strings coming into Timothy's ministry
1) natural blood line 2) Spiritual influence --Paul was Timothy's spiritual father Others cant own your faith for you! (even in a home that taught and exalted Christ)
not one detail has been wasted!
Rom 8:28 even tragedies and horrible circumstances are used (meant to be used) for equipping and His glory

2) He equips us by adjusting us
He puts us in situations where we feel we don't fit- situations that provide finishing
The biggest adjustments will be to people
constant flux and change- new situation so that we'll be a new person and character
I am not finished
If you feel like you don't fit, there's a reason why its fitting
Don't run until He releases you
Until you're around the people who bring you the worst in you, you're not in a position for God to bring out the best in you

3) By Repairing us
dominant themes of "equip" --prepare and repair
dont surrender to ministry, surrender to Jesus- to go anywhere to do anything with Him
the "call" is to Himself- following Him, you'll do His will
Gal 6:1
restore= equip (same root Greek)
Repairing is constant You want to keep it together
Resetting or mending a broken bone
Broken relationships, vows promises
If you don't allow this restoration, you wont be equipped
Telling God: I wish you wouldn't have had to pick me up from that pit or sin
will you be angry or allow God to restore
God always wills to restore people not positions- hanging on to positions is pride
Heb 4:13 Grace and Mercy
you dont have to be ashamed to need grace and mercy- hold your head up

4) By filling us
Heb 13:20-21 Through Jesus Christ
You cant do what you've been called to do Only Jesus can fulfill His great purpose
How much will you give way to Him? If you determine to hold on to carnality, you'll miss it
He wont use the carnal
Stop trying to run in someone else's lane- run your own race! Don't compare yourself to anyone else.

Passion 2010: Community Group Study

2010-02-04T22:27:00.005-05:00

The routine for Passion was Community Group, main session, lunch, breakouts, afternoon/dinner break (when we picked up late night tickets), Main Session, Community Group, late night LONG days but so packed with amazing theology, wisdom, fellowship and seeing God in new, awe-inducing ways.
Every Community Group at Passion did a study of Colossians 1. It was used to either introduce or remind us of Interactive Bible Study:
Reading a passage and asking:
1. What is the context? (whats going on-to whom, when why)
2. What does it say? (original language)
3. What is God saying about Himself?
4. What does it mean? Implication
5. What does it mean to me? Application

We started with Col 1:15-20 discussing each question with our family groups then Kyle lead us through it as a community group.
Here are some of my notes:
context- Colossians was written to the church at Colossae (modern day Turkey) Paul probably hadnt been to Colossae which was no longer the city center (it was then Laodicia) At the time, starting a church meant evangelizing to those who had never heard, seen or met Jesus (though many doing the evangelizing had) They were dependent on church leaders Paul is in prison. Colosae was in trouble- believing lies that they are still under the law. The fear was that they'd abandon the faith.
Vs 15 His is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn
greek-icon Jesus is the exact representation of God but not an idol He is God- God revealed Himself in Jesus. John 14:9
Firstborn- Supreme
Greek means first Son of God: Jewish- rights and privileges, authority
Prominence not sequence, rank
What does this mean: Implications
If Jesus is the icon, there is no other special revelation coming or needed
What does it mean for me?
Nothing will satisfy like Christ does- the icon, Knowing God is possible through Jesus, Jesus is worthy to be followed- He's supreme.

Vs 16 For by Him all things were created...by Him and for Him
context: Jesus is initiator All things are made to serve and glorify Him
Implications: As creator, Jesus couldnt be created; All power and creativity are in my Saviors hands
--I LOVED this! I love being creative so hearing things like all creativity is in His control reminds me of why things like photography are a form of worship for me. I feel more drawn to Him while expressing creativity.
Satan can only do what our Savior permits Jesus has all power and authority
If all things are for Him, my life exists to serve and glorify Him
What does this mean for me?
If Jesus has authority, I'll fear no evil- all even submits to MY GOD!
Before thinking of myself as gifted, I am a created masterpiece of God
My day is different if I am focused on my purpose to serve and glorify Him This truth changes my life, career path, etc Work and live with the purpose of serving and glorifying God -- this is something I try to remind myself of before going to work. Thinking of unpleasant tasks as serving the purpose of glorifying God definitely changes my attitude towards them.

vs 17 He is before all things and in Him all things hold together
What does it say?
Keeping all things in continuous stability My Savior holds solar systems and my cardiovascular system in place
what does this mean?
He's in and around all aspects of my life, All things continue and exist by the pleasure of His will
Trouble in the world isnt Christ's weakness its all for God's purposes and glory in ways we cant comprehend Part of His plan for history.
What does it mean to me?
I can trust Him with my life.

Vs 18 He is head
What does it say? Church=Body; He's the head Jesus is first of many to be raised
what does it mean? Dont rely on something so temporary when you have something so eternal and valuable Pre-eminent- we wont see the end to His glory We wouldnt want a God we can fully understand
What does it mean to me?
Jesus is possessive over His bride. He has control over every aspect- the messy and the beautiful. We are to fulfill His purpose here and to be His hands and feet
Every church leadership flow chart begins with Jesus
How do I do _______(college/vocation) world while keeping Jesus supreme?
Vs 19 For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell (greek: to be at home permanently)
Implications: every part of God was resident in Jesus Fully God
What does it mean to me? Through Jesus, I have complete access to God- not a substitute
Vs 20 Through Him to reconcile to Himself all things
God initiates reconciliation with us
There was nothing we could do It pleased God to secure the peace we could never accomplish on our own
The way to restoration with God is the cross - personal faith in Him
I have been reconciled- there is peace between me and God

Passion 2010: Awakening

2010-02-04T22:03:00.003-05:00

Awake, my soul!
Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations;
I will sing of you among the peoples.
For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth. Psalm 57:8-11

Louie Giglio posted this passage on his blog shortly after the conclusion of Passion. The mission statement of Passion has always been (and will continue to be) Isaiah 26:8-- a generation united, passionate to see Jesus made famous.
Each conference, though, does have a different focus. Louie Giglio's message in the opening main session introduced the focus for Passion 2010: Awakening.

He defined Awakening as "trading in something small (lives we control) for something huge (a life that fits into His plans, spent for God's purposes- a plan greater than anything we could dream of).
He spoke out of John 11, the death of Lazarus. His friends and family were asking where Jesus was and why He didn't care enough to come immediately. Even the disciples were asking Jesus why they weren't going to Lazarus sooner. Louie explained that according to verse 4, its possible that the pain you're going through is receiving a response of "I love you, but its for God's glory"
Jesus went to "wake" Lazarus (as well as everyone else there observing!)
*the following is transcribed out of my notes so it may seem scattered but I think its fairly straightforward to stand without explanation**
"Some of us have fallen asleep" and "God wants to bring a rattling vision of the Almighty God to shake my tiny world". "Jesus, wake me up from just existing"
vs 15: "For your sake, I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe" --Jesus knew it was better for them to see Lazarus awakened than if He'd saved him from death
vs 34-36 Jesus wept over Lazarus' death He WAS upset that his FRIEND died!
Martha objected to Jesus rolling back the grave stone because Lazarus' body would have started to decay (stench)
Some need to be awakened and the stench behind the stone is overpowering but God's not afraid of our stench! He's not offended by our humanity Move the doubt-- the "I tried and failed" mentality, move the "it wont work for me", Jesus called to God for the benefit of those listening. He already knew Lazarus would be awakened.
He told Lazarus to take off his grave clothes and come to Jesus Wake up to who you are, what mending you need ....
Take off the grave clothes! Go beyond just knowing God. Unpeel the layers, be unbound and free.
The timing was no accident: vs 45 The passover was drawing near and many more people were around Many put their faith in Him after seeing Lazarus raised (Lazarus' death and awakening served a greater purpose for the Glory of God)
Lazarus' family held a party for Jesus. Celebrate the One who raised you, invite Him into your space, call your friends around, pour out something extravagant that matches His work. Let those around you see you dead and after resurrection. Someone they know personally - let them witness a great change.
Jesus was made more famous in Bethany BECAUSE of Lazarus' death More will come to know Jesus BECAUSE I go through the fire! He'll become more famous now with the testimony of my resurrection.
vs 24 Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies it remains alone but if it dies it bears much fruit
Jesus didn't cry to be bailed out He cried for God to be glorified. Could God be glorified, made famous, if Jesus said "no" to the cross? yes but b/c Jesus traded something for larger, God's MORE famous.

Passion 2010!

2010-02-04T21:16:00.010-05:00

Yes Lord, walking in the way of your truth we wait eagerly for you for your Name and Renown are the desire of our souls Isaiah 26:8

The past month has flown by! I arrived in Atlanta for Passion on January 2nd and left on the 5th. It was such a blessing to get to attend! God definitely paved the way making His hands in the process so evident. I know the same hands that cleared the path for me to Passion 2010 were also the ones holding me through some difficult spiritual lessons and sustaining me now as I'll be held spiritually responsible for what I've learned. It was definitely a challenging, convicting, growing, healing and encouraging time! As with SummerLINK, I know I'll be processing through and applying what I learned there for years!
The blessings of the conference began even before arrival. I drove up to Clemson to join my group for the drive to Atlanta. With just four girls in the car, we were able to talk about Passion, to pray together and to listen to the arrival podcast that Louie Giglio had recorded to help us get our minds and hearts ready for a very powerful few days. I also printed off the 16-day prayer journey to read on the way. It was great to be with Clemson girls and to have that time of fellowship and community prayer before getting to Atlanta.
The magnitude of what God was trying to do in my heart started hitting me even during worship in the first main session. Chris Tomlin, Christy Nockels Charlie Hall and Matt Redman all lead from the two venues. (Phillips arena cant hold all of Passion so a portion of the group watches the message from the Georgia World Congress Center Arena but they have a separate live worship band) We had Charlie Hall live. He asked "Who is God as he lead "Chainbreaker" -- liberator, heart Savior. He asked "What has God done?" as he lead "Song of the Redeemed" --set us free, purified our hearts and made us clean. Then: "Who are we?" We are Yours. One of the worship leaders said something that struck me "He took the punishment that brought us PEACE" That really got my mind set on God for worship and the message. Louie gave the first message and really set the tone for Passion (as really only he could).
After the first awesome main session, it was on to our first Community Group! We were told by Louie (on the podcast as well as after arrival) that Community Groups would be the place of greatest personal growth during our time at Passion. That was reiterated by our Community Group leader as he opened the first meeting. Louie recorded messages for each of probably 20 Community Groups. With over 21,000 18-25 year olds attending Passion, each Community Group contained about 1,000. He welcomed us to the "Lime Green" Community Group and introduced our leader.

Kyle Dunn is a college pastor serving Baylor University and an old friend of the Giglio's from their time in TX. He's married with 3 kids and is an undoubtedly gifted teacher. And then the real fun began haha. Kyle told us all to "gather our goodies" (backpacks, purses, jackets--there was a lot of layering going....didn't know a "southern city" could get that cold!) and just start "mingling" around the room. When Kyle said stop we had to link arms with someone near us. This little routine was repeated two more times until groups each had 8 people. These are family groups. They're created with the intention of more intimate community during Passion. (pictured below is my family group with Kyle)

While main sessions and breakouts are awesome, they're completed by the opportunity to process everything with a group of loving brothers and sisters. As Kyle simply yet almost profoundly put it: you processing out loud helps others connect the dots. It's so true! I learn more when I can verbally process with others. Sometimes they can articulate something I just can't put into words. I'm convinced that my group was hand-picked by God for me! So many different backgrounds and things to bring to the discussion table.....Our time together and the new friendships formed have been such sweet blessings! We spent that first meeting getting to know each other and preparing for the first full day of passion.
After Community Group, I attended my first late night concert: David Crowder! I'd seen Crowder at Passion Regionals as well as at a concert in Easley my Sr yr of college. I really wanted to take advantage of all aspects of Passion though. The concert was in Phillips on the main stage. Crowder is incredibly funny as an entertainer!
Of course, it was still worship but more laid back than main sessions. Crowder concerts are just fun in general. He's not my favorite of the artists but I do enjoy his band's creativity. They have something called the "keytar". Basically a keyboard worn like a guitar with a neck strap. They have a "band member" named Steve who's actually a robotic drummer. One of the band members also modified a Guitar Hero guitar to be played on stage. At some point in the show they usually play the theme to Mario Brothers.(yes, the video game! haha) It's all pretty crazy and fun to watch! On a serious note though, I read Crowders book, Praise Habit a couple years ago. Its a very insightful and spiritually growing commentary on select chapters in Psalms. David Crowder is definitely not conventional but He is truly a solid worship leader with a great deal to impart on a generation needing more people they can look to who will point them to Christ.
We finished up a little after midnight and headed back to the hotels. Our walk to and from included going through Centennial park. It was still decorated for Christmas and the city was lit up all around us at night. There were so many positive aspects of Passion for the mind, body, and spirit. The walk to and from the hotel each day was so good for my mind and body! I felt great physically with so much activity those few days! Though it was COLD, the morning and evening walks were one of my favorite aspects of Passion.
Most of the 2010 attendees had never been to a Passion Conference (or had just attended the regional in 08- the last full conference was held in 2007) so for the majority, the next day was something completely new.

Just for Fun

2010-02-04T17:14:00.002-05:00

There have been a couple Facebook trends recently. One is changing your profile picture to that of a celebrity you think you physically resemble. (I skipped this one in case you were wondering) The other is looking up the meaning of your name on UrbanDictionary.com
I thought this would be fun. Here are the first three definitions (the others are just too outlandish...)

1.

A beautiful and sophisticated woman that will probably never give you the time of day. Generally they have advanced degrees, wear very high heels and know that you are not worthy.

2.
the nicest people in the world.... some may think they're kinda weird or a tad nuts but when you see past it you'll see they are the best people to have around.
they sing, they dance and they love.
very talkative, funny, cuddly, loveable and just all round fantastic people.

3.

The most amazing girl...
eyes that shine, with hair a curl, and smile that lights a room. Her looks are the beginning of the journey with her, her soul beams brighter than her amazing beauty. To know her is to love her

Granted, NONE of these are really me but they ARE submitted by random authors whom I've never met. I got a little chuckle out of it. Now aren't you excited to see the urban definition of your name?? ;)

"Sometimes There is a Bow"

2010-01-23T01:29:00.013-05:00

I had the blessing to attend Passion 2010 Jan 2-5th. God's hand and heart are so clearly seen in these conferences as thousands of college students and young adults from around the world gather to make Jesus famous.
My first Passion event (after hearing about them for at least two years!) was a 2-day Passion '08 Regional in Atlanta. It was then I knew I really wanted to attend a 4-day conference while I was still in the "student" age group. (Passion attendees are 18-25 years old) Louie Giglio, the founder and still leader of the Passion movement, preached a three-part message, entitled Hope, at Regionals. With permission, he read passages from the journal of a girl named Ashley. The passages unfolded Ashley's testimony and the influence of her roommate, Christa, a Christian and Passion '07 attendee. Correspondence between Ashley and Louie Giglio began as Ashley wrote to Louie as a Senior at the University of Florida. (the first email Ashley wrote to Louie is posted on the Passion Blog for Jan 30th, 2007) Louie read some of her emails along with the journal passages. He also read emails from a young boy torn by a great tragedy, confused as to where God was in it all. The boy's older sister had recently passed away of severe internal bleeding after a car accident. She was just days away from her college graduation. Louie said it took him days to respond to the boy because he was at such a loss for words....he didnt want to resort to the cliches or empty comfort... In the end he told the boy to look to the Cross. It's not ok and it'll never be the same again but God is steadfast. His plans are to give us a hope and a future. He is the only light in the darkness.
As the story progressed, we learned that this boy was Ashley's brother. Ashley passed away in May of 2008. The telling and retelling of her testimony throughout the Passion movement and beyond has brought many to Christ! Her death, though heart-wrenching for her family, friends and anyone who hears her story, is not in vain but for the glory of God! It has also brought countless more to the foot of the cross in times of fading hope and faith; when circumstances cloud our view of Christ.
Something Ashley's brother wrote to Louie stood out to me: he had taken some time to be alone with God- to cry, to be angry, to ask God why He didn't save his sister when so many were fervently praying for her to recover from her injuries.... God reminded him that he did save Ashley.... She had written to Louie that she had "life for the first time in [her] 22 years" when she met Jesus. By God's grace, Ashley accepted Christ as her Savior five months before she passed away.
As Louie preached the Passion 08 messages, unfolding Ashley's testimony, he also drew in the effect her testimony had on her family. Ashley's mother, step father and brother were believers but her father was an atheist at the time Ashley became a Christian. After Ashley's mother wrote Louie to inform him of Ashley's passing, her brother and father also corresponded with Louie. Ashley's brother struggled to understand why God would take Ashley home so soon after answering their prayers for her salvation. Ashley's father wanted to understand why his "princess", his girl who clearly held the entirety of his heart until her death, respected Louie and the Passion movement so much. He wanted to understand the drastic change in her life. After some time building a friendship, Mike asked Louie if he could ask a few questions about Christianity. One of the first was what Ashley meant by having "life for the first time in [her] 22 years". Ashley met the Creator, the Messiah, the Almighty God. Her life as a believer on earth was short but full of hope and joy. She's with Him now, sitting at His feet, praising and glorifying the Heavenly Father she fell in love with while she was with us on earth.
At the time of Passion 2008 Regionals, correspondence between Louie, his wife Shelly and Ashley's family was ongoing. Louie told us that there was no neatly tied bow at the end of the story.....
In reference to this, Louie had this to say in today's blog post (exactly three years after Louie received Ashley's first email!!!!)

As I shared this message of hope in the midst of pain, I would always end by saying something like, “I know, if this was a good “preacher story” there would be a nice bow on the end and Ashley’s dad would walk out and close our time in prayer….but life doesn’t work out that way and I don’t have a bow. Often, in this world, we don’t get a bow.” People would always laugh. Yet something powerful would settle over the message that rings true. Life doesn’t always end up working out the way we plan. You know it and I know it, but it doesn’t take one ounce of power away from our message, or the cross of Christ which immovably anchors our hope in a God who loves us no matter what, and who paints on a canvas bigger than we can see or imagine.

Mike and I would often write and talk back and forth about the life his daughter found in Christ. After hearing the Hope message he wrote, “I’m not sure you’re ever going to get your bow.”After three years, I sometimes wondered if he was right.But, as I say after sharing Ashley’s journal and story of faith, “Never count God out!” A few days ago an email came with the subject: New Year. New Life. It reads in part (with permission)…

Louie,

I hope your 2010 has started off great. I can hardly believe that it has been almost 3 years since my daughter first told me told me she was a Christan and I told her she was crazy. The last few months I have been doing a lot of reading and studying about Christianity…

I have been attending a Bible Study with some men that I work with. Christianity is not something that I ever thought would be a part of my life. But for almost 3 years it has been something I think about every day. I am not the same man I was a few years ago…

In studying Christianity I have discovered that I do not have to be alone. I have also discovered that I can have my life back. I can regain the joy that I had when I was with my Princess. To use words that you would say. I have taken my ribbons and tied a bow, 3 days ago I accepted Christ as my savior. It is the first time in 3 years I have had any peace in my life.

Holding a Bow

Mike

I just sat there staring at my Blackberry. The same one I stared at the day I got the news from Ashley’s mom that she had died and was home with Jesus. Both days my eyes filled with tears. That day in 2007 they were tears of overwhelming sadness. This day in January 2010 they were tears of stunning joy. All I could think of was Mike and Ashley together in heaven, forever linked by a common love for the One who saves and restores!

————

Mike, the whole world has been praying for you and I’m pretty sure that there are fist pumps pumping, tears flowing and shouts being shouted right now in places all around the globe. I know there are in heaven!

I know I definitely let out an excited cheer after reading this! Oh the greatness of our Savior!!!
Welcome to the family, Mike!

Reminders

2009-12-19T20:26:00.003-05:00

Sometimes I feel like my life runs on a to-do list... Friends in college practically labeled me energizer bunny.... It still takes me awhile to unwind after a day of winding the gears. This time of year, its especially easy to gauge the worth of the day by how many checks adorn the list. The GirlTalk ladies have been weighing in on this subject for the past few weeks, making it a main topic of discussion throughout the holiday season. A post from a couple of days ago hit home....
If you're like me, all too often resembling Martha from the items on the list to the attitude performing each task, these words of wisdom serve as a needed reminder to cultivate a Mary heart.

“Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:42

This week, I’m planning Christmas dinner. I went to the grocery store yesterday. I’m going again today. And tomorrow. And Christmas Eve.

Actually, it’s a dinner that Jesus is referring to in Luke 10:42. The Greek word for “portion” here means “meal.”

He tells Martha--who is busily preparing a meal that fed the body--that Mary has chosen the good meal. Mary was eating a meal that fed the soul.

But not only that—Jesus said it was a meal that would not be taken away from her. Wow! Now that’s a really good meal!

It might take us twenty minutes to eat Christmas dinner. It will take our body 24-32 hours to digest that meal. The benefits won’t last for long.

But when we make the Lord’s teaching our meal, when we feast on His Word, the benefits from that meal will last for a very long time.

So long in fact, that Jesus said, it will not be taken away from us. Not in 24 hours, not in 24 years, not even in eternity.

Think about that. Every time we read, study, meditate or memorize God’s Word we are ingesting truth that will never be taken away from us.

That’s astounding!

That’s a meal we don’t want to skip!

Thanksgiving

2009-12-09T21:35:00.004-05:00

I've been pretty bad about posting updates lately.... Work has definitely kept me busy!
In the interest of catching up, here's a pic from Thanksgiving! I drove up to Virginia to be with family as Mom and Dad hosted for their first Thanksgiving in the new house!

The table set and decorated beautifully by mom with flowers from my aunt :)

It was great to celebrate the holidays with family though, as always, it was an incredibly quick trip. The drive up and back was thankfully, fairly easy and filled with the beautiful colors of fall.

I love you more......

2009-11-11T23:04:00.004-05:00

For those who don't already know, I've started a new job with Chick-fil-a. I am still unsure as to what God has planned long-term. For now though, I'm grateful to be employed and for the calming peace with which the Lord has been sustaining me. It's been a blessing to work for a company with such God-honoring values! I've been learning so much about true hospitality, humility and serving with Spirit-filled joy through this experience.
One fun "perk" of going out into the dining room in the store is that I have an opportunity to hear the uplifting praise music being played. It seems so little yet makes such a difference in my heart and attitude throughout the day. It's a gift to help keep my focus on the greater purpose of God's glory while ministering to my coworkers and our guests. A song I find myself singing dwelling on is "More" by Matthew West.

Take a look at the mountain
Stretching a mile high
Take a look at the ocean
Far as your eye can see
And think of me

Take a look at the desert
Do you feel like a grain of sand?
I am with you wherever
Where you go is where I am
And I'm always thinking of you
Take a look around you
I'm spelling it out one by one

I love you more than the sun
And the stars that I taught how to shine
You are mine and you shine for me too
I love you
Yesterday
And today
And tomorrow
I'll say it again and again
I love you more

Just a face in the city
Just a tear on a crowded street
But you are one in a million
And you belong to me
And I want you to know
I'm not letting go
Even when you come undone

(chorus)

Shine for me
Shine for me
Shine on, shine on
Shine for me

(chorus)

I love you more than the sun
And the stars that I taught how to shine
You are mine and you shine for me too
I love you
Yesterday
And today
Through the joy
And the pain
I say it again and again
I love you more
I love you more

And I see you
And I made you
And I love you more than you can imagine
More than you can fathom
I love you more than the sun
And you shine for me

Genesis 1-3 tells of God's creation and of the fall of man. In the beginning, the Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) were all present and in perfect fellowship. God didn't need to create anything for completeness or fulfillment. He chose to create and love man in an entirely selfless act. God chose to fellowship with man. Full understanding of His reasoning for this I'm sure will only be grasped by meeting the Father Himself. Until then, it astounds and comforts me that God didn't need to create anything but chose to do so and then to create man as the steward of His perfect creation. Most of all though, it's astounding that even with perfect beauty, God loves sinful, disobedient, disappointing man most of all. He taught the stars to shine, put the mountains in their place but He reaches down to personally minister to my heart as a loving Father.
Oh how great a Master, Father, Provider, Sustainer, Friend is my Savior!

ECBC YSA Halloween Party!

2009-11-07T13:00:00.007-05:00

(East Cooper Young Single Adults in case you were wondering haha)

For Halloween, YSA had a potluck and bonfire! The Caldwells were so kind in hosting this gathering for us. They live on beautiful property overlooking the water. The party was mainly outside under the palm trees and stars (which are so much brighter away from city lights!) There were chili and dessert cookoffs as well as a costume contest. I really enjoy the fellowship of these new friends and look forward to getting to know many of them better!

Here are some pictures from the evening.

Myself and Kristina, a sweet new friend I met in membership class. She was a very cute 80's dancer!

It's hard to see in this picture but Aaron had on a Clemson hoodie, hat and pants to be "60 cent" I was a Tiger. (A CLEMSON Tiger of course!) We decided a Clemson alums pic with our costumes was a definite necessity

Clemson Tiger and Clemson Cheerleaders

My wonderful small group :) (most of us...) The guys we asked to take pictures for us decided to have a little fun.... They had multiple cameras and just kept flashing without telling us where to look. Hence, the laughter and everyone looking in different directions.

Wilma Flinstone, "Killa Kelly" of "Gang Green", Tiger, 60's, "Party in the USA"

Fall Travels- Clemson Pictures!

2009-11-07T10:16:00.012-05:00

I really love the fall! No question, my favorite time of year especially in Clemson! The crisp air, leaves changing, the sights and sounds of the holidays just around the corner.
The drive up for my last visit was beautiful! There is such a visible difference between the lowcountry and the upstate. It gives the impression that the leaves are changing as you travel!

After church, I spent some time on and off campus taking some fall pictures. I still love this form of worship: immersed in God's creation, in awe of the beauty of His fingerprints. Here are some my favorites!

Fall Travels Pt 3- Clemson

2009-11-07T10:12:00.019-05:00

I'm so very blessed to have such amazing people in my life! This trip was full of great "girl time" with so many sweet sisters. I also got to play Ultimate Frisbee for the first time!
The drives home are bittersweet but full of thankfulness to the Lord for His goodness and blessings. I'm so thankful for wonderful college friends that are turning into lifelong friends! It's a great joy to be close enough for these reconnecting trips!

While in Clemson, I had the opportunity to visit Crosspoint Church's new building!

They officially moved in September. I was so excited to get to see it and visit with sweet friends there! God's been blessing this church body so greatly in the last few years. The facility provides for the many needs of the church so well! The sanctuary and meeting spaces fit the church body well and there is plenty of room to expand when its needed as they own the rest of the property. Currently, there are other tenants in the strip who will rent from the church until their leases run out and they can use the space for expansion!
I am always so blessed by the solid theology and powerful worship at Crosspoint. The message that morning was the first in a series on Jonah (definitely worth listening to here!) and the Mission of God. The first message was "Pursued by God: a look at God's Goodness and Probing our Hearts". As I've been seeking the Lord on future plans, hearing of how God called and used Jonah was very thought-provoking. God had a specific call on Jonah's life. (Jonah 1:1-3). He has also promised that He has a plan and purpose for my life (Is 43:1-10, Jer 29:11). Some points that stuck out to me were that God IS speaking. Anything I "receive" that doesn't match God's word is NOT from Him! It's so important to seek the Lord's face and discern through the filter of His word. He has given His children a message to proclaim with a sense of immediacy: God is Holy. All wickedness and evil are against Him and will not stand! (2:12-13). Even though something may seem easy or "fall into place" it may not be according to God's plan. Everything "fell into place" as Jonah fled but God brought him back to Himself to fulfill His good purposes.
2 Tim 4:3-5 Discharge all the duties of the ministry God has given you. This involves speaking the Truth of God especially when it is unpopular. As a child of God, I've been given a responsibility to obediently carry His message. Anything other than full surrender to the will of God is a wasted life. I pray I'd be found obedient to God's word and His will.

The praise band did a song I hadn't heard: Glory to God by Steve Fee. The lyrics have stuck with me so I wanted to share them:

Before the world was made, before you spoke it to be
You were the King of Kings, yeah you were, yeah you were
And now you’re reigning still, Enthroned above all things
Angels and saints cry out, We join them as we sing

Chorus:
Glory to God, Glory to God
Glory to God, Forever (2x’s)

Verse 2:
Creator God you gave me breath so I could praise
Your great and matchless name, all my days, all my days
So let my whole life be a blazing offering
A life that shouts and sings the greatness of the King

Bridge:
Take my life and let it be
All for you and for your glory
Take my life and let it be yours (x2) We sing… (back to chorus)

Fall Travels Pt 2- Columbia and Greenville

2009-11-07T09:58:00.012-05:00

The second trip was to home sweet Tiger Town!! I went on a non-game weekend to get more time with friends. As always, it was quick but so refreshing! On the way up, I stopped in Columbia and Greenville to visit with friends. Maddie is a sweet sister so incredibly wise beyond her years! It's such a blessing to consider her a dear friend. We started out our visit going for a walk near the lake (yes, Columbia does have some beautiful scenery! I was pleasantly surprised haha) I did get a couple of pictures before the rains started:

Even though our plans got rained out, we still had a great time catching up!

The next stop on my way to the upstate was in Greenville with Stephanie, one of my SummerLink roommates. Steph to me represents one of those friendships you have no question was ordained by God. In various ways, I know all of the friendships God's blessed me with have been. Stephanie and I just share so many similar struggles, questions and wonder of our futures. Even though we really only spent a couple of months together, we pick right up where we left off anytime we're together. I am continually amazed at the speed and strength of her spiritual growth. I know God has great plans for her! I'm greatly looking forward to the continuing growth of our friendship and witnessing the development of these plans. Her friendship is a sweet gift in my life.
Stephanie and I met in Downtown Greenville for dinner and some time walking around main street and the park. One of the things I love most about some of my closest friends is that we can pick up right where we left off if we're separated for any length of time and that we all enjoy just being together. It can be something as simple as going for a long walk to chat. And what better place that beautiful Greenville to soak up some refreshing fall air and conversation over some hot chocolate!
Here are a couple of pictures I took of Falls Park on our walk:

Downtown Greenville is such a unique and fun atmosphere! The park is beautiful and calming, there are several wonderful places to eat and the shops are a lot of fun! One of my favorite shops is Go Fish.

Many of their items are handmade "by indigenous artisans in developing third world countries" such as Uganda, Liberia, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Peru and Mexico. There are so many unique things from jewelry to figurines, clothes, cards and journals with handmade paper. I love the candles! I was actually able to take my mom to visit one of their stores in Norfolk while I was there. I was excited to share this with her. I think, though, my favorite store is still Greenville! Its absolutely worth the trip if you're anywhere nearby!

Fall Travels Pt 1-Virginia

2009-11-07T09:18:00.007-05:00

It's been such a blessing to travel as much as I have over the last couple of years. I'm really beginning to enjoy these get-a-ways! Most recently, I had the opportunity to visit with family and friends before starting my new job in late Oct/early Nov.
First, I visited my parents in their new house in Virginia! I'm so happy for them as they really seem to be settled where they've desired to be for years! They're minutes from my grandparents and love the area. I stayed about a week and a half so I was grateful to be soaking up so much family time! My aunt and cousin visited while I was there. We all enjoyed accompanying my grandparents to the annual Coast Guard Fish Fry. My grandfather retired as a Captain in the CG. Our family has been attending picnics since I was young.

My youngest cousin, Tyler, and I with our grandparents

Even the ten or so days I was there flew by as they were filled with visiting "old haunts" from the first time we lived there, unpacking and beginning to add all the touches that make it home. I didn't get pictures of the house this trip but I'll be returning for Thanksgiving; one of the first holidays "all together" we'll have had in years! My parents' and grandparents' houses combined will offer more space to bring everyone together mostly from across the state. And of course, me, the "ex-patriot".

Encouragement

2009-10-14T18:12:00.004-04:00

It seems the only constant in my life over the last year or so has been change. I suppose that's pretty consistent with life in general. Though, its times like this that I'm reminded of my desperate need to cling to Christ; for strength, for hope, for guidance, for a reminder that there is one mightier than anything I'll ever face who holds the master plan and for the desire not to give up.
I came across these gems of encouragement while reading through some of the blogs I subscribe to today. The first is from the GirlTalk Blog on Carolyn McCulley's broadcasts on focus on the family and some of her reflections on her blog.

"As Dr. Grudem said on Sunday morning at my church, he doesn't know anyone over 50 who has not had a significant trial or affliction. If you live long enough, you will encounter difficulty because it's what happens in a fallen world. But this is not the end of the story. Not only will we experience God's redemptive activity in this life, we have the promise of sin-free, pain-free life everlasting with Him in eternity. So if I am called by God to glorify Him as a single woman, even though I desire marriage, I know He is not wasting that desire or my small sacrifice in the years I have lived in that tension. He is weaving that into His plan to rescue, redeem, and reclaim His children".

Another encouraging post was written by one of the members of Mars Hill church who recently lost her husband in Afghanistan. She also commented on adversity.

"During the minutes where I can’t seem to grasp what has happened or where to go from here, I am constantly hearing the phrases, “You are crushed, but not destroyed”….”You are NOT defeated”. It’s at these moments that I really think about living as if I’m defeated versus living as if I’m NOT defeated....

I think about whom I would be defeated by if I gave up or let myself turn to worldly temptations or negative ways to handle the hurt of a killed spouse. Satan…the devil himself is waiting on the other side of those decisions. He wants to destroy me. He wants to defeat me. He wants to win this battle. This battle isn’t between just him and I though; it’s between good and evil. He is attacking all of us. Sometimes he uses special ops techniques and sometimes he decides to use a bomb…like killing an amazing father and husband that fears the Lord…who would spit in Satan’s face if he had the chance!....

I find comfort in all of this when I too call on God. Many times reading the book God has prepared for us, the Bible, is where I find solid advice and encouragement. My creator has provided me with so many stories to turn to and letters to live by, and proverbs to unfold. Here are a few that have come up recently that pertain to not being defeated:

“for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.” –Proverbs 24:16

“Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be light to me.” –Micah 7:8

I also find comfort in 2 Corinthians 4, where the reference of being ‘struck down, but not destroyed’ comes from. This is also the part of the Bible where Paul says:

“Therefore do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light and momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. “ -2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Paul, on behalf of God, is begging for the Corinthians (and us) to not lose heart.... We shall overcome Satan, as Jesus did, by turning to what is eternal. All that I know to be eternal is Jesus, who lived after he died..."

I hope these thoughts are an encouragement to you as well! Keep persevering!

Young Adult + Single =F.A.T. ???

2009-09-27T16:23:00.006-04:00

After some deliberation and prayer (though not as much deliberation as I thought would be necessary) I've decided to take the Hermeneutics class! I attended the first class a couple of weeks ago :) I'm very much looking forward to learning more about the discipline of interpreting the Bible.

My only disappointment will be missing teaching on Paul's writings in another class. I would, no question, list Paul among my favorite Biblical writers if not my favorite! I respect his no sugar-coating yet encouraging style of addressing the new church. I also greatly enjoy studying his letters as a record of the early corporate Church.

Given my major and minor in the social sciences, I also love to learn about how groups and individuals interact. Paul's letters are such a window into the hearts and minds of some of the first members of the collective church body!

So why the blog title: "Young Adult + Single =F.A.T. ???" For those who haven't heard the acronym, F.A.T. stands for Faithful Available Teachable. Perhaps one of the things that intrigues me most is the likelihood that many of the early church members were around my age! Paul chose to pour into the younger generation to build and provide lasting leadership to the young congregations. I wonder what life must have been like for them as they realized that what they were choosing to be a part of would change their world as they knew it...

The heavens declare the GLORY of God; the skies proclaim the work of HIS hands

2009-09-27T16:04:00.005-04:00

You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.
Nehemiah 9:6 (NIV)

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?
Psalms 8:3-4

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Psalms 19:1 (NIV)

I love nature! It's God's fingerprints; His daily reminders that He stays in complete control of His creation. It's a great comfort to know the Creator of the Universe, MY GOD is ever present in my DAILY life!!!

Earlier this week, God provided a sweet blessing on the way home from work: a rainbow over the bridge! It was still lightly raining and the sky was still a slate blue so the colors of the rainbow were a bright and beautiful contrast. I've heard friends speaking of getting to see it from various parts of town. As I was driving, I didn't get a picture of it but thankfully, one has appeared from a local news station!

THIS is another amazing example of God's handiwork! It's an older picture of the "X Structure" at the CORE of the Whirlpool Galaxy sent back from the Hubble Telescope. It really puts things into perspective ...

I've had the blessing to take in parts of God's creation that have taken my breath away. God has truly left evidences of Himself all over His creation! I'm definitely an avid fan of nature! I know I have a tendency to post a lot of song lyrics but this one speaks of the beauty of nature and it's purpose of shouting God's glory. It's one of my favorite songs from Clemson FCA's :)

Filled With Your Glory- Starfield

In my heart, in my heart, there's a fire burning
A passion deep within my soul
Not slowing down, not growing cold
An unquenchable flame that keeps burning brighter
A love that's blazing like the sun
For who You are and what You've done
And as the fire is raging on
So Your praise becomes my song

The whole earth Is filled with Your glory, Lord
Angels and men adore
Creation longs for what's in store
(Mountains bow and oceans roar)

May You be
Honored and glorified
Exalted and lifted high
Here at Your feet I lay my life

From the ends of the earth
To the heights of Heaven
Your glory, Lord, is far and wide
Through history
You reign on high
From the depths of the sea
To the mountain's summit
Your power, Lord, it knows no bounds
A higher love cannot be found
So let the universe proclaim
Your great power and Your great name

The Start of Class!

2009-09-09T15:55:00.002-04:00

Ok...so I'm not officially a student anymore...but it is my desire and goal to maintain an attitude of teachability with a love for learning throughout the rest of my life. In college, I spent much of my time as a social sciences major (and minor!) learning about how groups and individuals interact. This still intrigues me. The why's and hows of history seem to unfold when you understand the people involved. I've found this to be true in so many avenues of life....These academic interests have only grown my passion for studying Biblical History and Theology. The Bible itself is a historically flawless record of God's interactions with people spanning centuries and countless generations.
All this to say ....I'm so excited to be going back to class! Well....sort of.... This Sunday, the church I am attending will begin fall Sunday School classes. I'm very much looking forward to what I'm sure will be a wonderful semester of corporate study and growing in the Lord. Now....if I could only decide what class to take! A few I am considering are: Interpreting the Bible (Hermeneutics), World Religions, and a Peer Group Study (young, single adults) on the writings of Paul. I think I have an idea what I'm leaning towards but the number of great options require that the actual choice be made with some careful consideration. Yes...I do embrace my inner nerd :) In the words of Mark Driscoll, I "geek out on Theology"....and I'm ok with that :) )Wish me luck choosing but even more, please pray that I truly would have a teachable heart. The Lord is providing such sweet gifts in the opportunities to "go deep" with a committed body of believers. I can't wait to get started and find out how He'll use this time.

Update

2009-09-07T18:51:00.004-04:00

Considering there are actually some exciting things to tell, I suppose its time for a real update!
The long-discussed (but delayed...) move has finally occurred! For those who have heard me talk about it for a good couple of years now: yes! really!! haha
My parents moved back to our home state a week ago and I've officially moved in with a couple of great girls and a third furry roommate; a very sweet dog, Mia, who waits to greet me outside my room each morning. It's definitely been an adjustment. New roommates, new church, new city. Even though I still work in the same office and really just moved about 40 min away, it's not an area I frequented other than small group meetings so I have had to change all of my routines. It's actually been surprisingly fun to learn my way around.
One of the greatest blessings was taking a day trip the weekend my family moved away. I still strongly believe it was exactly what I needed emotionally and spiritually that day. I was able to visit with two wonderful sisters and dear friends from college, Maddie and Meredith. Both are in grad school and by God's providence! had some downtime that weekend. On both visits, we mainly sat and talked for hours. I SO love and look forward to sweet times of fellowship (and just being girlie! It quite often involves food and laughter! :) ) God has used these young women SO often to speak truth into my life and to be sources of encouragement!
A fun example of one of these "girlie fellowship moments" occurred on my visit to Meredith's: she brought me back a traditional Indian outfit from her trip earlier in the summer. She put on one of hers so I could try on mine and we enjoyed a cup of chai tea :)

As we were enjoying the fellowship so much, I don't have other pictures from the trip but I anticipate more trips this semester so I'll try to have a few more to put up :)
Overall, the adjustment to this new season of my life has been easier than I expected. I attribute this entirely to God's grace. He has been so faithful to provide in a multitude of ways including a sustaining peace He began washing over me weeks ago about remaining here while my family moved away. Looking back even a year or two ago, I can see how much God's grown me as I know I would not have been as at peace. His timing and providence are so good. Although, I have seen confirmations, I don't think I can yet fully explain what His purpose is for me here. I'm looking forward to Him revealing more of this to me. One of my sisters shared a sweet truth with me last weekend: God's plan is playing out in my life now. It does also exist in the future but it is not solely there to be awaited. He has a purpose for me in this season, in this place, at this time.... To God be the glory in how I steward the gifts and responsibilities He has entrusted!

Truth- Lecrae

2009-09-07T18:33:00.002-04:00

[Spoken:]
Bring it drums (Yah)
This song right here
Is for everybody out there looking for truth
Who says, you know
We all in the same boat
Yeah, Christians and Muslims, everybody like that, huh
Yow, you lookin' for truth
Oh, I've got some answers man
So good to be
Ah, let's get into it

Let's go
Night and Day I ain’t scared to say that we different
They play the prostitute but they like to say they just intimate
And Idols in their heart, they can’t seem to lose their grip on it
See them walkin’ in the direction that canned and crippled them
Our World is different like Whitley and Wayne man
They say we look the same but we ain’t chasin’ the same thing
It all boils down to they think everythings relative
Jesus might as well be a South American president
Very evident, they say that Jesus was heaven sent
They lifestyle reflects they worship themselves instead of Him
They don’t acknowledge the Christ if they did they wouldn’t worship themselves by the way that they live
All these rappers say they got guns that spray off 16
I’ve got a Luke 9 that can take all 16
That’s the Bible the one they poke
But they don’t care about the author they think he’s a joke.

[Spoken:]
"Man, It's just some folks say, "All truth is relative, it just depends on what you believe." You know, "hey man, ain't no way to know for sure who God is or what's really true." But that means you believe your own statement; that there's no way to know what's really true. You're saying that that statement is true. You're killing yourself. If what's true for you is true for you and what's true for me is true for me, what if my truth says your's is a lie? Is it still true? Come on man!"

I promise everybody is asking the same questions
“Who am I? What is my purpose and my direction?”
Y’probably believe that you exist for no other reason
Than Self-satisfaction, hedonism and pleasing things
Life’s about you getting’ yours and bein’ happy
Even if it means a divorce and switchin’ families?
Your job, your house, your car, your spouse
It’s all for the glory of you, Elsh-u-ou
You go to school get y’ degrees and get a job
So you can make a whole lotta’ g’s cause’ lifes hard
You never thought of livin to please a real God
And that’s the reason he made you
See, he gave you breath to breathe the chest to breathe it.
So you can taste and see He’s the best, believe it
He made us for His glory and not for your own homey
Our God is Holy. You should repent and die slowly

[Spoken:]
"See, there's this thing called "Secular Humanism", it says man is the source of all meaning and all purposing. You know what i'm saying? We're just the result of a big cosmic explosion. We don't really have a purpose or meaning, so we just come up with our own purpose. We're the source of our meaning and our purpose. How can a man, which is the product of chance, a finite being be the source of purpose and meaning? You can't! You're created with purpose man! Get with The Creator yo!"

Man, everybody got a problem with God
And when you mention the Christ
Then they really get to turning the nod
But some say they roll with Christ
But some rappers made it seem like He was cool
With all the sin in their life
NO!
But then some say “How can God exist when
All this evil stuff in the world keep persistin’?
Wrong question. Ask again.
“How come God aint’ let you feel the wrath from sin?”
What you thought last night deserved a first class flight
To Hell where God doesn’t dwell. You got that right
But He bought back life, on a cross that night
Christ died, you ain’t know that he cost that price?
All of God’s anger put on His son
Then together, through all of eternity. Now He was shunned.
Praise God for the life that was won for us
Ain’t got a beef with God because the son was crushed

[Spoken]
You look man, "Some people say that God ain't real 'cause they don't see how a good God can exist with all this evil in the world. If God is real then He should stop all this evil, 'cause He's all-powerful right? What is evil though man? It's anything that's against God. It's anything morally bad or wrong. It's murder, rape, stealing, lying, cheating. But if we want God to stop evil, do we want Him to stop it all or just a little bit of it? If He stops us from doing evil things, what about lying, or what about our evil thoughts? I mean, where do you stop, the murder level, the lying level, or the thinking level? If we want Him to stop evil, we gotta be consistent, we can't just pick and choose. That means you and I would be eliminated right? Because we think evil stuff. If that's true, we should be eliminated! But thanks be to God that Jesus stepped in to save us from our sin! Christ died for all evilness! Repent, turn to Jesus man!"

Disciples of all ages

2009-08-13T15:25:00.004-04:00

I love hearing the wisdom of older sisters who are moms. I had the great privilege over the last couple of years to soak up the benefits of some very wise sisters' experiences. Though, until the Restore Conference last Feb, I looked at it more as information for the future. In a general session on parenting, the speaker, Dr. Liederbach, made an excellent point that has changed the way I reflect on parenting wisdom. Whether married, unmarried, parents or childless, all believers are to be living out Titus 2. We're to be submitting to the council and accountability of other believers while pouring into others as well. I've heard parenting described as the most important discipleship responsibility anyone can undertake. If parenting is discipleship, many of the aspects of discipleship should be applied to parenting. Likewise, aspects of Biblical, God-honoring parenting may also be applied to discipleship. The main point to his advice, therefore, was for those who did not have children not to tune out! The lessons of parenting in that session could be applied to discipleship-something every believer is responsible to do! Since then, I've had a new appreciation for the wisdom of parenting. Of course, I still do also appreciate it as helpful information for the future but with thankfulness that it may also be applied now!

This is an excerpt from a recent girltalk blog post on parenting/preaching the gospel to the littlest of disciples:

Monsters Under the Bed by Janelle Bradshaw

So how do we help our small children deal with middle-of-the night fears?

Dr. Russell Moore—himself a father of small children—recently offered this insightful answer:

“The kids know—they instinctively know—that they're living in a universe in which something's gone awry. It's not our job—as parents, or as Sunday school teachers—to disengage that. It's our job to come in and to provide an answer to that. Yeah, you're living in an enchanted world. Yeah, you're living in a haunted world. You're living in a world haunted by demonic powers. That's exactly right—what you deeply fear is indeed the case... Your worrying about the monster under the bed isn't unreasonable; there's a monster under the fabric of the cosmos. Instead, we give them a story that provides the only comfort that really is lasting comfort; it's a comfort that the enemies have been defeated."

I am going to add a few words to my middle of the night hugs and kisses routine. Yes, Caly-girl, we live in a scary world, but we don’t need to be afraid. The monster has been crushed. And the One who crushed him, He’s right here in this room.

Faith, Hope, and Love

Forward Motion

"You Lead"

Quilt update!

Not alone in the struggle

Love this!!!

Tshirt quilt!

One DIY finished and another begins!

With you until the end of the age....

Music

Finished DIY!

Bottles and Brushes

Amen for being a man!

Battle

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

More Than a Fairy Tale

Praying for a love like this...

More DIY....

More fall YUM!

YUMMO!

A finished DIY :)

Left over fabric?? must be destined for another DIY!

DIY in progress!

DIY!

They're ALIVE!!!

A new favorite...

Your Love Never Failsby Jesus Culture

...the greatest of these is love

Mr. and Mrs. Hassell!

Nesting

Antics from the Cube Farm

Certifiable ;)

Beauty and Value

Quotes from a sermon I heard recently (taken from the church's fb page)

In America, especially with ladies, it's all about the outward beauty and people forget to look at the inside. America wants an outward transformation, while God values the inward transformation. Where are you focused?

This message almost hurt with conviction but healed at the same time...I know I don't trust God as I should and I pay an emotional price for it. Phil 1:6 is one of my favorite verses. Its so comforting to know that God is faithful. He has a plan for pursuing and growing me. He doesn't give up!

Do You Trust Me?

S-H-E-N-A-N-I-G-A-N-S

Be careful what you pray for....encountering God's power

Update

Quotes from the Cube Farm 2

Quotes from the Cube Farm

Unpredictable

Resurrection and the Life

Risking What is Precious on the Promise of God

At the Master's Feet

Passion 2011 Main Session 3: Francis Chan

Passion 2011 Main Session 2: Beth Moore

Passion 2011: Main Session 1

Mr. and Mrs. Lancaster

The Greatest Present is His Presence

Mr. and Mrs. Denton

I'm a Tiger

Growing and Learning Day by Day

Mr. and Mrs. Timm!

Clemson Groundbreaking

Quick Catch-Up

....By those you have trained....

The faithful servant stands relieved

'The Watch'

Welcome Home

Happy 36th Birthday East Cooper!

Seeking God's heart, one unsteady step at a time

Beginnings

More to Come

The TaTa Magic

"This Little Light of Mine"

Brokenness

God's timing....

Daybreak

Too good not to share!

Part of Something Bigger

Reunion

Homecoming

Going Heart Deep

A Purpose in Every Season

Global Impact 2010 Missions Conference

Birthday Week

Birthday

Passion 2010 Main Session: Louie Giglio

Your Love Never Fails
by Jesus Culture

This message almost hurt with conviction but healed at the same time...
I know I don't trust God as I should and I pay an emotional price for it. Phil 1:6 is one of my favorite verses. Its so comforting to know that God is faithful. He has a plan for pursuing and growing me. He doesn't give up!