Some thoughts...

Hey all!
So lately I have been studying in Romans and also reading a book entitled: “A Cry in the Wilderness” by Keith Green. and using that for a Bible study that I have started doing with a friend on Wednesday nights. Both studies have been very challenging to me personally and I thought I would share some of the things I have been learning with you.


"Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God,

who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,

but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher.

For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.

Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.

Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you." (2 Timothy 1:8-14 New American Standard Bible)

"The gospel Paul preached involved making tough choices and taking hard stands. It is about putting your life on the line.
Losing popularity with your friends. Suffering for your convictions. What God wants is ALL of us-soul, mind and body."
(Keith Green)

Ok so the gospel is explained as: "the TREASURE which has been entrusted TO YOU." If we are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ do we live as though we have a great treasure? What are we doing with that TREASURE?

ARE WE LIVING LIKE WE ARE CHRISTIANS? When people look at us WHAT DO THEY SEE? Have you ever seriously asked yourself that question? I didn't for a long time because I knew that I was not living the way I should be for the Lord BUT I then realized that ,again, it is about a choice. We CHOOSE how we will live for the Lord. We can be talk the talk at church and youth group and conferences BUT when it really matters do we walk the walk? Does Jesus Christ shine out of us NOT ONLY when we are at church but when we are with our family or even just by ourselves?

"One mark of the true gospel is that IT DEMANDS SACRIFICE FROM US. Sacrifice of having control of our lives, moment by moment. It challenges everything we do. But as we learn (it's a process) to embrace the gospel-and to realize that this world is not our final home-and when we live it out in our lives God will use us to call the world to Himself." (Keith Green)

The older I get the more I realize how it is so easy to fall into the trap of convenient Christianity. What is that? Only living for the Lord when it is "convenient" for us to do so.

It should not be so! God has really been challenging me lately to offer up every single second of my day for HIS honor and glory. He has been challenging me to live for Him EVEN WHEN it is not "convenient" for me for whatever reason (embarrassment, scorn, people misunderstanding). Jesus Christ abolished death for US! Why then do we find it such a duty to live for HIM?

As followers of the Lord Jesus Christ we are called with a holy calling (2 Timothy 1:9). He has chosen us as His children! He has appointed us to go and bear fruit! (John 15:16).

So here is the question that really has been challenging me for the past few weeks especially:

What are we going to do about it?

As the body of Christ-as the church-what are we going to do about this awesome treasure that we have been given (Jesus Christ)?

Are we willing to let go of (surrender) all our dreams (huge one for me) and let the Holy Spirit take FULL CONTROL of our lives? To let go of everything that we hold close. To take up our crosses and follow Christ without looking back? (Luke 9:62)

In 2 Timothy 1:8 Paul admonishes his readers to not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord. Thinking about that...how many times do we have opportunities to witness but refuse because "we might offend someone"? How many times does the Lord lay something on our hearts but we refuse to do it because "it might make us look weird/radical"? Please believe me when I tell you that I have been asking myself these same questions over and over and have come to the conclusion that I do not want to be ashamed any longer!

Jesus Christ was not too ashamed to die for us on that cross...why is it we are too ashamed to live for Him?

Just some thoughts I thought I would share with you...

Here is one last question to ponder:

What choice will you make today? Serve the Lord 110% and make Him the center of your world or continue to live a "convenient" life only fitting God in when it is absolutely necessary?

Believe me...it is something I will be pondering as well...

PLEASE GO CHECK IT OUT!!!

Hey all :)

Just a quick note to say that my sister Abby's blog has been redone and her PNG trip is coming up so please head on over and read what she has to say. God has really been working in her life and she has a lot to say :)

So check it out:

PNG Bound '09

Still studying out some things and starting to work on a long post for later this week :) Blessings!

Long overdue video!

Hey all :)

So yeah, things have been crazy busy and I just have not had the time to post like I wish that I did. Of course when I do get the time it just seems as though the words do not come...ANYWHO!

So I promised y'all some video and have just now finally started to get around to it! This video was taken on Easter Sunday. Us 3 girls have sang in church for the past...well forever but this year was the 1st we got it on video which is actually a really good thing because I needed it for Abby's graduation video that I need to start making soon :)

So here we are:



So, just sitting here thinking, I know that that song is the "typical Easter song" but have you ever just sat and pondered the words?

"God sent His son, they called Him, Jesus;
He came to love, heal and forgive;
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives!
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!
How sweet to hold a newborn baby,
And feel the pride and joy he gives;
But greater still the calm assurance:
This child can face uncertain days because He Lives!
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!
And then one day, I'll cross the river,
I'll fight life's final war with pain;
And then, as death gives way to vict'ry,
I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He lives
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!"



When I think about those words...chills just run down my spine! WE SERVE A LIVING GOD!!! The God of the UNIVERSE desires to have a PERSONAL relationship with each and everyone of us...it just is mind boggling! WOW! SO yeah, definitely in awe of my Savior tonight :)

I have a ton of stuff on my mind and hopefully I will be able to start getting them out on paper and then into post form but until then enjoy the video :)

Pictures from April

Hey all!
So I haven't posted a lot of pictures lately and since I am doing some projects on the computer and am kinda bored I thought I would grab this opportunity and give ya'll a glimpse of what my family has been up to this past month :)

Ice skating Recital with Laura, Jac and Jordan:





































































Mom and Dad's 20th anniversary:
































Easter:


















Hikes at the park (Thanks for taking the pics Erik. I was being lazy :-p):


























































































Spanish Dinner:












































































































































































Time with Christy and her family this past weekend which was amazing! She has 3 brothers so we went to the mall and had some girl time. It was sooo much fun! We tried on a ton of clothes and took a million pictures. One lesson I taught her was even though a shirt may look immodest there is always a way to make it modest (something under or something over it or both!). It was really a blessing to just be able to spend time with her :) God is so good! It is fun to have a 4th younger sister!:















































































































































































































































































































(Love my expression in the last picture. That was AFTER a long day at the mall and I was wiped out! lol) Whew! So yeah, there you are all kind of up to date! Life is crazy busy but in a good way :) God has been teaching me so much about Him lately! I have been thinking alot about what kind of legacy I will leave behind me when this life is over. Will it be Jesus? Yeah so pondering that and then just daily living I suppose :) God is good!

What do people see when they look at you?

"Do they see Jesus in Me?"
By Joy Williams

"Is the face that I see in the mirror
the one I want others to see
Do I show in the way that I walk in my life
The love that You've given to me
My heart's desire is to be like You
In all that I do, all I am

Do they see Jesus In Me
Do they recognize Your face
Do I communicate Your love, and Your grace
Do I reflect who You are
In the way I choose to be
Do they see Jesus In Me


It's amazing that you'd ever use me
But use me the way You will
Help me to hold out a heart of
compassionate grace
A heart that You're spirit fills
May I show forgiveness and mercy
The same way You've shown it to me

Now I want to show all the world who You are
The reason I live and breathe
So You'll be the One that they see
When they see me"


Lately the Lord has been placing it on my heart to examine myself and my example to others THROUGH my DAILY life...think about these words:


"Do they see Jesus In Me
Do they recognize Your face
Do I communicate Your love, and Your grace
Do I reflect who You are
In the way I choose to be
Do they see Jesus In Me
"

Now let me ask some questions that I have been asking myself:

Do they see Jesus in YOU?

When people look at us/talk to us to they recognize HIM in us?

Do we communicate HIS love and HIS grace to everyone around us NO MATTER where we are, what we are doing, or who we are with?

Do we CHOOSE to reflect Jesus Christ to those around us or are we just content to live a "convenient" christian life that is "comfortable" but lacks passion because we refuse to surrender our ALL TO HIM DAILY EVEN WHEN IT IS UNCOMFORTABLE FOR US?

Just some things that I have been thinking about...what are your thoughts?

The heart of it all...

"The heart of the gospel is that we must die
with Christ in order to
live with Him. But what exactly does it mean to
die with Christ? To begin, it means
that we are to be dead to our rights. And that means
signing over to God
our desires,
our dreams,
our hurts.
All that we are or will ever be."

(Keith Green)

Making ones life count...

Hey all :)

So today was a day that was just...full of choices. I started out restless. In body, mind and soul. Into the afternoon I finally decided that instead of wandering aimlessly around I would make the most of it. So, I went upstairs got out my Bible, Journal and Book and started to spend time with the Lord. WOW! IT WAS AWESOME!

Because it was so awesome I thought I would share some of my thoughts with you.

I am reading an amazing book called "I would die for you" which tells the amazing story of BJ Higgins a boy that knew what it meant to live his life for Jesus Christ alone. As I was reading this quote really made me stop and ponder:

"What is of great concern to me: the inauthenticity of people in general...God is not religion, He is reality. God did not intend for us to be religious; He intended for us to follow Him...we should just try to get to know God, not just follow meaningless rules. We should also try to show others that God is far beyond these religious traditions and droning sermons. We should show them and b an example to them about how truly fulfilling, satisfying, amazing, and real God is when He is known and worshiped in true authenticity."

~BJ Higgins
~"What is of great concern to me"~School assignment~2005

So I read that quote and then I started pondering what it meant to truly be an example to others around us. About what a true relationship with Jesus Christ should looks like. Then I started thinking about whether or not people would see an example of what a true relationship with Jesus Christ looks like if they looked at my own personal life. Then I started thinking about what my life should look like. That was when the conviction started.

I desire more than anything else that when people would look at me ,whether they have known me 12 years or 12 minutes, and would see Jesus Christ shining out of me. I desire my life to be a living sacrifice for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

So here I am pondering and musing and thinking and reading and journaling (which always helps me think more clearly about something) and I came across these verses:

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service (He died for me the LEAST I can do is live for Him). And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:1-2)

So often we can grumble and complain about serving the Lord. So often we can have excuse after excuse about why we "can't" give our all to Him and yet-HE GAVE HIS ALL FOR US!

Here are some quotes I wanted to share with ya'll:

"Decide (choose) not to ride the fence,
dividing your intersts
between God and the things
of the world.
Decide (choose) that God will
OWN your heart.
Trust Him and be willing to admit
when you are
wrong."
(Unknown)

It all boils down to a choice! Daily choosing WHO WE ARE GOING TO LIVE FOR. Ourselves? Or Christ?

"The reason some of us
are such poor
specimens of Christianity
is because we have
no Almighty Christ.
We have Christian
attributes and experiences,
but there is no
ABANDONMENT
to Jesus Christ."
(Oswald Chambers)

Have you ever stopped to consider what a difference it would make if each and every child of God started living their lives in TOTAL ABANDONMENT to Jesus Christ? If instead of living our lives looking no different then the world around us we CHOSE to be different and to be LIVING SACRIFICES for our God? Have you ever thought about what would happen if the young generation (OUR generation) stood up for Christ and were not ashamed to live for Him alone?
I have been thinking about it a lot...I know that I want to be 110% surrendered to Christ but not only when I am with others, oh no, when I am at home with my family and when I am all by myself. Every single second of my day needs to be lived for Jesus Christ...to honor and glorify and lift up HIS precious name...

"As a Christian:
'Your life is hid
with Christ.
You are not your own.
You have no time of your own,
no money of your own.
CHRIST
MUST
BECOME
YOUR
COMPLETE
MASTER.'"
(Leonard Ravenhill)

So yeah. I would have to say that this afternoon was yet another turning point in my life. My deepest desire is to live and breathe my precious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ...to live 110% for Him...to be a living sacrifice for Him...to honor and glorify HIM every single second of the day whether I am in a crowd of 100 people or whether I am alone in my room...He is so precious to me it is time I start living like He is.

So yeah...just thought I would share that with ya'll :) Today was awesome! OH and I got to finish my 12th prayer journal since March 2004 which is always really exciting :)

Blessings to you all!

PS: Pics and video will be coming I finally found my camera cord but then I lost my camera...sigh only I...lol :-p

GOOD NEWS!!!!

Hey all :)
Sorry that I haven't been on in so long! All 3 of our computors died at the SAME time so we have been without the internet for a few days now! SOOO much has happened but I will go into that tomorrow when I have more time :)

THE GOOD NEWS IS:

I found out the results of my tests on Friday (which were brutal btw!) and I am COMPLETELY FINE!! :) PRAISE THE LORD! Now almost completely certain it is all diet which is fixable! God is so good! Praise His holy name!

Diet meaning the wheat intolerence caused by what I am absolutely positively sure is the Celiac disease. My body is still healing which means I still have a long road ahead till I feel "normal" again (probably 3 months till I am able to function "normally" again and a year till I am completely better) but just yeah...sooo thankful :) God is good! Thanks for all the prayers :)

I have a ton of pics and some video for ya'll but that will have to wait till later.

Thanks so much for your prayers and encouragement again!

I have been thinking about this song alllll day. Actually us girls sang it at Easter so that might be part of the reason but here is the chorus (oh! I should totally post the video of us singing! What do ya'll think?):

"Because HE lives I can face tomorrow. Because HE lives, all fear is gone. Because I know HE hold my future. AND LIFE IS WORTH THE LIVING JUST BECAUSE HE LIVES."

Life is worth the living...because HE lives...what an AWESOME God we serve!

Blessings to you all :)

Ever have one of those day?

Hey all you peoples out there :)
So yeah, today was just...one of those days physically! It was one of those days that I am learning to really not look forward too. Unfortunately, it is also one of those days that I never have warning about...

It is on these kind of days that I have a choice:

A). Be annoyed, upset, angry, and bitter that I can not do what I want to do or accomplish the things I wanted to accomplish.

B). Make the decision to accept my physical limitations and then just do my best to have a good attitude and honor and glorify my Lord Jesus Christ throughout the day even if it means something as "small" as not being rude to my family...

Yeah...I am learning that that same sort of choice is before all of us each and everyday. Not necessarily the same challenges but the fact that it is our choice to serve the Lord with all our hearts of just live for ourselves...that is a daily decision each and everyone of us has to make!

Definitely is a daily battle...but God is so gracious and forgiving when we fail. We serve an AWESOME GOD!

So this will probably be my last post for a few days. Tomorrow will be crazy! Hopefully (Lord willing) I will be cooking all day long. The problem is that when I go to other peoples houses...I can not eat much! So I am starting to learn the fine art of actually planning ahead! Hence my cooking then freezing a ton of different foods that I can just grab out of the freezer at a moments notice. It will definitely be fun to figure it all out :)

Friday will be...a hard day. I have to be up in the city (1 hour away from us) at 10:30am where I will be having 2 MRI's. One on my brain and the other on my neck. The thought of laying in a MRI tube for almost 2 hours...kind of freaks me out BUT I am going to just bring some Bible Cd's to listen to and hopefully I will fall asleep! After the MRI's are done I will have a few hours break (in which I get to go out for some Chinese food!!!) and then it will be back to the doctors for a 3 hour test with I guess is going to be very extensive. So yeah, 5 hours of testing...I think I will be completely wiped out but it will be such a relief to have the tests out of the way.

Please pray for peace of mind for myself. The things they are testing for...well...lets just say I am praying very hard that everything turns out negative.

It is interesting. This whole journey has truly been one of learning to trust my God. Today when I was starting to get nervous about Friday the Lord gently reminded me that I need to trust Him in the good times and the bad. In the certain times and in the uncertain times. All the time! I need to have a absolute trust that His ways are perfect! That not only does He know my life story BUT He WROTE it!

Trust...

You know something is up when...

You know something is up when all you have are these:for dinner and really do not mind at all! Yup people...I ate those things for dinner. They are called green beans for those who did not know and I had an AVERSION to them before everything started with the gluten thing. About that...we are almost completely certain that I have Celiac disease which ok here is a long explanation of it:

"Celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. People who have celiac disease cannot tolerate gluten, a protein in wheat, rye, and barley. Gluten is found mainly in foods but may also be found in everyday products such as medicines, vitamins, and lip balms.
When people with celiac disease eat foods or use products containing gluten, their immune system responds by damaging or destroying villi—the tiny, finger like protrusions lining the small intestine. Villi normally allow nutrients from food to be absorbed through the walls of the small intestine into the bloodstream. Without healthy villi, a person becomes malnourished, no matter how much food one eats.
Celiac disease is both a disease of malabsorption—meaning nutrients are not absorbed properly—and an abnormal immune reaction to gluten."

Uh yeah...to sum it all up: If I eat anything that has a hint of gluten in it I am sick for days afterward. Example: I was at a restaurant and asked for ketch-up to go on my home fries and did not think about the fact that there was a slight chance the ketch-up had gluten in it and within 5 minutes of eating the ketch-up I was in so much pain I could not finish. DEAD SERIOUS! My intestines just cannot take it...SO basically and processed foods I can not eat at all. I am truly undergoing a complete lifestyle change! And I am starting to become a health nut in the process :) God is so good! Yes it can get annoying having to read the labels on EVERYTHING but the fact that I am starting to feel better...makes up for that a million times over. It is not over yet...it will probably be a good 3 months before my body starts to function normally again and I start to feel 100% again.God has blessed me with people that have Celiac disease and are helping me adjust to eating...basically nothing with wheat in it (yeah go to the grocery store and see how many things you can find with absolutely no gluten (wheat) AND with no possibility of being processed in a factory alongside gluten!) It is pretty challenging!

Through this whole process...I am just so blessed. I have just been reminded over and over and over again what an AWESOME GOd I serve! He has provided in ways that I never thought possible and has brought people into my life that have Celiac disease as well to help my transition. HE IS GOOD!

So one of my good friends Emily posted this quote on her facebook status tonight and it challenged me so much that I thought I would leave it as the last thing for all you wonderful readers out there to ponder along with me:

"If we want people to look at our Redeemer, we better start looking a little more redeemed...."

So here is the question I am asking myself...how redeemed to I look to those around me? Does my life automatically point others to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?

Just something to think about...

Randomness galorious!

Yes I am in a random mood so peoples (is that even a word?) BEWARE! :)

So what amazing happened in my life today? Well, I had a bad day physically. Not so much in the morning but by early afternoon I was struggling. The numbness and tingling went into exhaustion and then I was really weak (could barely walk across a room weak). I was really upset just because I had been doing really good and been feeling so much better since starting my new diet so when it all started happening again-I got incredibly frustrated! My dad told me that I needed to accept my physical limitations and if you know me...that is very hard for me to do! I am a doer! Always jumping up to do things...acting on whims...that kind of thing. ANYWHO!
God used it to teach me yet another lesson (He is so good at doing that). I had all these plans that I wanted done and yet, HE had different ones.

Since I was in bed most of the day I decided to have a "date" with God. And what a wonderful time it turned out to be :)

Yesterday I was really struggling with some decisions that needed to be made. I spent most of yesterday in prayer and woke up today not really knowing much more then I had last night. I was reading in a devotional that has scripture for morning and night (It is call the Daily Light I believe) and these 2 verses just really jumped out at me:

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7)

Have you ever thought about the fact that we serve a God who encourages us to talk to Him? Have you ever thought that we serve a God who we can confide in? Have you ever thought how AWESOME it is that the God of the UNIVERSE cares about our personal lives? It kind of blows my mind when I think about it!

Then I had this amazing thought: I am to be anxious for nothing so those things that I had been stressing about...they needed to be brought before the Lord in prayer and then left there in HIS care.

So my time with the Lord was spent doing just that. I think that I filled 9 pages in my prayer journal today! It was awesome!

The neatest part was that if I had been energetic like I thought I should be...I would have probably missed out on a huge blessing!

So here is something to ponder:
How often do we let the day-to-day things get in the way of time with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? How often do we not lay our problems at His feet because "we can fix it ourselves"? How often are we too busy or too tired to take the time to do the things that really matter (like time in the Word and in prayer)?

These are some of the questions I have been pondering as a result of today. Just thought I would share :)

So cool news:

My brother Danny now has a blog of his own! Check it out here: Living Life Completely For Christ

I am so excited to see where it goes :)

Blessings to you all!

Decisions...

Today has been a day full of listening to classical music /praying/thinking/pondering/journaling about so many decisions that I need to make but am really just not sure about.

The older I get the more I realize just what a gift life is. I would say that the one thing that I would never want to do is die knowing that I wasted my life just because it is SUCH a precious gift from God.

Then I think about the fact that my life does not belong to me because I have surrendered it to Christ...That brings on the question about what HE would have me to do with it...

WHEW! My mind is just going in circles!

One thing I DO know:

I serve and AWESOME and SOVEREIGN ALL-KNOWING GOD who not only knows my life story-but-wrote it...

So yeah, just thought I would share that with you :) I guess this was more of a post just to remind myself of the God I serve!

Blessings to you all :)