Lord...do what you will

My posting here are so irregular-this should change. One thing I have learned-If I don't write it down-I don't remember...therefore it's a shame not to record ones life.

Reflections

I am back at Liberty. Two more weeks and I will be out of here... It's a crazy thought, really. I am half way done with my sophomore year of college. Next semester I will be junior status. Where has the time gone? But more than that, how have I used the time that has passed?

I read a quote on the way back from break that made me ponder such a question...it went something like this:

happy the man, and happy he alone who can call today his own; He who is secure within can say, tomorrow do thy worst, for I have lived today.

-John Dryden

-So often I feel as if I live counter to this quote. I'm often putting of until tomorrow what I could do today-I'm often saying I'll do better tomorrow. But this isn't a healthy mindset. There is something to the whole idea of going to bed at night being able to say the words of Mr. Dryden. There is a balance however. It would be easy to think that one is never doing all they could do for our Savior-and therefore get discouraged. A constant discouragement about what is or isn't completed is not a good place to be. It comes down to the heart. Am I seeking to follow my savior every day? If so, he WILL use me...perfection is not a realistic goal--but seeking to glorify God by my life is. If this is my desire, I rest in his grace saying, Lord do what you will, I am yours.

Lord-may I live in such a way as to emulate such a follower after you.

May I have the strength to endure if such situations come my way.

May I live with the same passion and resolve whether I live in prosperity or poverty.

May I serve you alone with my thoughts, my time, my talents-  to be worthy of the call. 

May I credit you alone with any success, blessing, or transformation I encounter. 

Missionaries Creed

We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us,

and no one will find fault with our ministry. 

In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. 

We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. 

We have been beaten, 

been put in prison, 

faced angry mobs, 

worked to exhaustion, 

endured sleepless nights, 

and gone without food.

We prove ourselves by our purity,

our understanding,

 our patience

our kindness

by the Holy Spirit within us,

and by our sincere love.

We faithfully preach the truth.

God's power is working in us.

We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack 

and the left hand for defense.

We serve God whether people honor or despise us,

whether they slander us or praise us.

We are honest, but they call us. 

We are ignored, even though we are well known.

We live close to death, but impostors we are still alive.

We are beaten, but we have not been killed.

Our hearts ache, but we always have joy.

We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. 

We own nothing, and yet we have everything.

2 Corinthians 6: 2-10

red symbolizing the persecution I have not had to endure...

September 19, 2009

The year continues to fly by. We have been in school for a month....I've been here for over a month. It is so easy to live life in a blur...go go go...all of the time. I'm bad at balancing life. On the other hand--my overachieving may be beneficial....according to this quote--

The danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.

 -Michelangelo Buonanoti 1475-1564

On a lighter note...happenings in my life--

I drank an entire coffee black-by choice. And liked it.

I long boarded and broke my sandal. 

I cut Jordan's hair-and didn't fail. 

I am officially a coffee shop nut.

Elisa taught me how to snap. 

Sept 17 was head covering day...embraced on 33-6

Prasanna got a kitten-Penny. She makes my life.

Elisa is God's gift of a roommate. 

I love tea parties. 

I played fugitive for the first time yesterday-and got a blood blister. meh.

Charissa and Jeremy were here! I miss them so so much. They are off to Moroco at the beginnning of 2010...

No Excuses

The next time you think you have an excuse why God can't use you, remember the following people: 

Noah was drunk, Abraham was too old, Isaac was a daydreamer, Jacob was a liar, Leah was ugly, Joseph was abused, Moses was a murderer (like David and Paul), Deborah was a woman, Gideon was afraid, 

Samson had long hair, Rahab was a  prostitute, Jeremiah and Timothy were too young, David pretended to be mad, had an affair and ran away from his own son, Elijah was suicidal, Isaiah preached naked, Jonah ran away from God, Naomi was a widow, Job was bankrupt, John the Baptist ran around in a loin cloth-and ate locusts, Peter was impulsive and hot-tempered, John was self-righteous, The disciples fell asleep while praying, Martha worried about everything, Mary was so Jesus minded she was no earthly good, Mary Magdalene was demon-possessed, The boy with the fish and five rolls of bread was too obscure, The Samaritan woman was divorced - more than once, Zacchaeus was too small, Paul was too religious, Timothy had a stomach ulcer, and Lazarus was dead. 

No more excuses-

drinking tea and reading spurgeon

I led my first legit prayer group today. I was so nervous. I hate public speaking. I can't formulate my thoughts articulately. I felt very inept. Yet, my girls seemed to understand. Therefore the only thing I can say is the Lord Almighty is faithful. I love it when: I know he brought me through-yet I still made enough mistakes to keep me humble.

As for the night as a whole---God is Faithful. He has done great things. Praise be to God.

Another year has begun-and with it, another effort to update the blog. So many things have changed this year. I am not a lover of change-especially when it nudges me quite forcefully out of the comfort zone I enjoyed so immensely. I have a choice-to hold on, and miss out, or to embrace where I am at this given time, and realize God's plan is perfect. Have Faith.

Another conviction came in the way of Spurgeon.

Genesis 24:63 "Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide."-

Very admirable was his occupation.

 If those who spend so many hours in idle company, light reading, and useless pastimes, could learn wisdom, they would find more profitable society and more intersting engagements in meditation than in the vanities which now have such charms over them. We should all know more, live nearer to God, and grow in grace, if we were more alone. Meditation chews the cud and extracts the real nutriment from the mental food gathered elsewhere. When Jesus is the theme, meditation is sweet indeed. Isaac found REbecca while engaged in private musings; many others have found their best beloved there.

Very admirable was the choice place.

In the field we have a study hung round with texts fro thought. From the cedar to the hyssop, from the soaring eagle down to the chirping grasshopper, from teh blue expanse of heaven to a drop of dw, all things are full of teaching, and when the eye is divinely opened, that teaching flases upon the mind far more vividly than from written books. Our little rooms are neither so healthy, so suggestive, so agreeable, or so inspiring as the fields. Let us count nothing common or unclean. but feel that all created things point to their maker, and the field will at once be hallowed.

Very Admirable was the season.

The season of sunset as it draws a veil over the day, befits that repose of the sould when earthborn cares yield to the joys of heavenly communion. The glory of the setting sun excites our wonder, and the solemnity of approaching night awakens our awe. If the business of this day will permit it, it will be well, dear reader, if you can spare an hour to walk in the field at eventide, but if not, the Lord is in the town too, and will meet with thee in thy chamber or in the crowded street. Let thy heart go forth to meet Him. 

Being Quiet. Being Alone. Being still. Not so popular in our culture-which explains why the struggle is present to act on this discipline of meditation. Yet the benefits are innumerable. Convicting.

The time lapse between my last entry and this one is beyond ridiculous. I get into habits, but I can just as easily get out of the habit.  :S So much has happened over the past month and a half, there is no way I can account for it all~although the lack of documentation is a a bit saddening. But I must start anew somewhere-hence this post---

Yesterday was an interesting Easter. My Easter usually consists of going to church, and having lunch with my extended family at my house. Yesterday, however, my mom left for Europe-so we joourneyed to Washington D.C. to drop her off. While we were in the vicinity, we decided to visit Mark Dunsts church--Capital Hill Baptist. I loved it. It was growing, but not a mega church. It was solid but not dry. It was friendly but not fake. It was deep but not incomprehensible. It was large but still strangely intimate. 

We like it so much, we went back for the evening service---after sitting at Panera and doing homework in the afternoon of course~ :) The evening service showed how much that church was doing--and also how it is possible for a church of 600 members to still feel like family. People shared about the ministries of the church-its present and past members-for the majority of the time. Then they prayed for the concerns. It showed how much of a value they place on not only prayer, but relationships. It was refreshing. It was good. I would go back =)

The time in PA is drawing to a close-I leave to return to LU in just a few short hours---for three more weeks of craziness. Then I will be a sophomore. In college. Weird.  

so long-