What is God teaching you..

I'm interested in hearing what God is doing peoples lives.
What something He is teaching you or something awesome He has done for you lately?

Give me some feedback folks!

God will work in our lives if we allow Him.
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. James 1:22

So, I've been studying Hebrews 12:1 some, and digging into commentaries and such and just learning God's word. I've learned a lot, I am no where near done, and I wasn't sure I could actually do something like this outside of a school assignment lol.

Hebrews 12:1 says...

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

As, I began studying this verse all the things I learned in Hermeneutics and other courses at CIU came to mind and I started asking questions and got somewhat overwhelmed at just the things that you can get from this one verse alone. I started asking, well what does this mean or what does that mean..which led to mine in depth study. I'm not going to try to go into everything thing I've been looking at but I do want to use this blog to answer any questions, and to process my studying. I would love to have people ask questions, give their thoughts and have a conversation going. So, even as I'm writing my thoughts about this blog are changing. Here is what I want this to be...and who knows if it will work out.

I often have people ask me to help them understand scripture or to try to explain what something means, and i by no means have all the answers, there are tons more people way smarter than I will ever be out there, but I would like to start conversations between my friends, and not just Christians. Anyone who has a question or comment is welcome to participate. 

So, for this first post..answer any of the following..

1.What do you gain from this verse?

2.What do you feel like you need clarification or further explanation?

3. What do you think the writer is trying to say?

4. Anything else you want to say or ask!

I want to go ahead and say so many things, but I'm going to hold off and see where this leads. 

Life Changes

Well, in about a week, one chapter of my life will be ending and another beginning. After 4 1/2 years I will be graduating from college! :) Praise God! 
There are so many emotions to sort through. I'm excited yet a little sad. I love CIU so much. It is a wonderful place and I am thankful that God allowed me to come to college here. I am ready to be done with school too.  I'm nervous about whats next but I trust God with that. 
So many people ask me..whats next. my response..I don't know. I feel like there are a lot of "I don't knows" right now. But I do know that God is in control.  I do have one possible job/ministry opportunity but although I'm pretty sure about it, I don't have a definite answer, so pray for me about it and I'll give details when I am sure.


Amidst all the uncertainty and doubts I know for a sure fact that God is good. That Jesus died for me and that He loves me. I know that I want to share Jesus with others and no matter what I do I want to make a difference for the Lord. 

Ain't God good

So, I've been thinking about writing a new blog for the last couple of weeks, so here it is. I'm not really sure what I am going to say except for I want to write about the Lord and how great He is. 

I have been thinking about this verse a lot lately..

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 1 John 3:1 

What has been grabbing my attention is the word lavished.  It means to give in great amounts; without limits.  So what this verse is saying is that God has poured out His love on is; without limitation. There is nothing that we can do to get more and nothing we can do to get less.  He pours out His love on us. Why, though would a Holy God give His great love to such sinners as us? He cares about us; not just generally speaking, but individually, He cares about and loves each of us.  He knows us by name. He desires to have a relationship with us.  He loves us so much, that He is not going to force a relationship with Him on us.  He has given us the right to choose.  We have to make that decision. It is the single greatest decision a person will make.  Either you choose to follow Him, or you choose not to. 

Back to the verse...

When I think about 1 John 3:1, I am overwhelmed with God's love for me.  He has chosen to give me His love. I am reminded that I am His daughter and that I am special to Him.  

YOU are special to HIM too. 

Wondering Why?

3 days ago I was supposed to leave for Gatlingburg, TN.  but around 3 weeks ago, i broke my foot. A lot of emotions have gone through me within the last week or so. I know that God has a plan and He works all things out for those who believe in Him, but I have really been struggling a lot with God's will for my life for this summer.  I was pretty confident in that fact that God had called me to go to TN.  I had a great peace about it and I was really excited. Yeah I didn't want to leave home and the ministry i have here, but I knew that God was going to do something awesome up in TN.  After phone conversations and prayer and thinking it through, I am going to make a final decision on June 7th after I go back to the doctor.  Maybe God will allow me to go then, but I am really feeling like the door is closing here. And that confuses me, upsets me and somewhat angers me.  Why would God allow me to get so excited about this ministry and going and then slam the door in my face. (ok i know he hasn't slammed the door in my face but that what it feels like sometimes) I know it sounds like im whining or not trusting God, but I am really just questioning.  I'm having a hard time dealing with this right now and writing about it helps to process.  
I really hate this cast on my leg. It is a pain. Hopping around all day wears me out. Asking people for help drives me crazy. Staying in my house all the time is causing me to lose my mind, but its to tiresome to get out and go anywhere, not to mention, I don't have my car right now.


on a brighter note, my grades for last semester were; 1 A, 3 B's and 1 C+
and im taking Mark online next semester and I am really excited, so excited that I already ordered the CD and will be ordering the book soon and I plan on getting the work done over summer break.


Pray for me to have peace and patience with God.
and to find a place to live; and afford come August.


God is good.
i whine to much.
but i am human.

By HIS wounds we are healed!

WOW! thats what I am feeling right now.  God is really moving in my heart and life right now.  It is amazing as I look at over the last few years of my life.  He has done so many great things. I am rejoicing greatly in that!


I just finished a project on Isaiah 52:13-53:12

The Suffering and Glory of the Servant

 ¹³ See, my servant will act wisely ^[a] ;
       he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. ¹⁴ Just as there were many who were appalled at him ^[b]—
       his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man
       and his form marred beyond human likeness—
 ¹⁵ so will he sprinkle many nations, ^[c]
       and kings will shut their mouths because of him.
       For what they were not told, they will see,
       and what they have not heard, they will understand.

Isaiah 53

 ¹ Who has believed our message
       and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
 ² He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
       and like a root out of dry ground.
       He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
       nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
 ³ He was despised and rejected by men,
       a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
       Like one from whom men hide their faces
       he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
 ⁴ Surely he took up our infirmities
       and carried our sorrows,
       yet we considered him stricken by God,
       smitten by him, and afflicted.
 ⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions,
       he was crushed for our iniquities;
       the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
       and by his wounds we are healed.
 ⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
       each of us has turned to his own way;
       and the LORD has laid on him
       the iniquity of us all.
 ⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted,
       yet he did not open his mouth;
       he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
       and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
       so he did not open his mouth.
 ⁸ By oppression ^[d] and judgment he was taken away.
       And who can speak of his descendants?
       For he was cut off from the land of the living;
       for the transgression of my people he was stricken. ^[e]
 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
       and with the rich in his death,
       though he had done no violence,
       nor was any deceit in his mouth.
 ¹⁰ Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
       and though the LORD makes ^[f] his life a guilt offering,
       he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
       and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
 ¹¹ After the suffering of his soul,
       he will see the light of life ^[g] and be satisfied ^[h] ;
       by his knowledge ^[i] my righteous servant will justify many,
       and he will bear their iniquities.
 ¹² Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, ^[j]
       and he will divide the spoils with the strong, ^[k]
       because he poured out his life unto death,
       and was numbered with the transgressors.
       For he bore the sin of many,
       and made intercession for the transgressors.

I focused on verses 4-6, and God has reminded me of what Jesus did on the cross for ME!! He took on my sin, my evil, my sickness, so that I would not have to. He took on death..He was beaten, mocked and crucified on a cross so that I could be healed. One of the verses I referred to in my paper was 1 Peter 2:24..He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.

That phrase..by His wounds we are healed..I love that phrase and it keeps going through my mind..it means more to me after doing this project.  I am better understanding how great of thing it was for Christ to die for me.  

As I sat down to have my quiet time, I opened the book I have been using and turned to todays page..and the verse was 1 Peter 2:24! I was like whoa! wow! God thats awesome.

Jesus came so that He could die on the cross for our sin.  He himself, sinless, became sin.  I will never comprehend the greatness of the cross and what happened there, but I am thankful for a savior willing to die for me.  

Hallelujah what a savior! 

Discipleship

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit-Matthew 28:19


I've been thinking a lot about discipleship. As follower's of Jesus, we are commanded to make disciples. I feel like most of the church has gotten this wrong.  We to often make converts, not true followers of Jesus.  We want to see people get saved, and yes that's a great thing, but to many times we do not take the time to disciple new believers and we expect them to know how to live and so forth.  


My heart's desire is to disciple teenager's and to see them thrive in their walk with Christ.  I want to make disciples, who make disciples who make disciples.  
What exactly is discipleship? I'm not sure if I completely know, but my best shot at it is...walking along side a person, living life with them..teaching the word..prayer..


I am interested in what other's think about this topic. 
If you had to describe discipleship what would you say? 
How can we get better at this? 


Let me hear your thoughts, im interested.

This past year.

I welcomed in the year in Hong Kong.
Finished my 3rd year of college..started my 4th.
had knee surgery.
became a youth leader
realized even more my need for my Savior
made some awesome friends
said goodbye to some amazing friends
played guitar in front of people for the first time
got a new roommate..2 actually
began my career in dog sitting lol
went down 2 pants sizes! woohoo
decided that I might just go to seminary
fell in love with Jesus even more than before

decisions...

So I graduate college in about a year (December '10) and I have been thinking a lot lately about what I should do after. I think God wants me to go to grad school or seminary. I am having a tough time making a decision on where to go and what to study. Here is what I am looking at..

stay at CIU and do the one year Masters of Bible Teaching

or possibly another program at CIU.

Go to Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and possibly study student ministry..a 2-3 year degree

Go to North Greenville University for their Masters of Christian Ministry Degree..a 1-2 year degree.

I am kinda ruling out CIU, because it's the most expensive option. SEBTS is the cheapest, but NGU isn't much more. I am kinda leaning towards NGU, but I want to learn more about their program and talk to some students and see what its like.

My other thoughts of what to do after undergrad are..

the Journeyman program with the IMB..its a 2-3 year oversee's commitment.

to to East Asia and teach english..which is a year commitment at a time..and I can stay as long as I want.

go straight to the mission field..not sure with who or how or where.

I know I do not want to get a 9-5, or any "real job"

..thats not me. God has other plans for my life...i think..im pretty sure

pray for direction and guidance..and patience..because I want an answer now..but I know it will come in God's time.

also, I would like to hear your feedback..what do you think? Any other suggestions? Comments..anything.

wow..can I just say that God is super cool.

I just opened my email in a new window, and I receive a daily devotional thing..and it was talking about the future and how it is in God's hands. AMAZING! awesome timing.

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you." - Psalm 32:8

Be thankful

I am thankful for…

my salvation..my Savior loves me enough to take on my sin and die on a cross for me.

my family..they are crazy but I love them

socks..they keep my feet warm

music.

football.

rainy days

a place to live

my school

God's provision

orange juice

friends

trees

my guitars

the ability to learn

the privilege to live in a country where I can worship Jesus freely and I do not have to worry about my life being taken from me

God's grace..oh how I need it

bagels and cream cheese

the ability to run and play sports

beautiful cloudless skies

a super awesome church family..-they are the best..for real

passion for teenagers

electricity

the ability to cook

swimming pools on hot summer days

a job

coffee

my car

a bed to sleep in

cereal

sweet tea

the youth group I work with

clean drinking water

Gamecock football

awesome professors to learn from and to be mentored by

quiet, cool fall mornings

the mountains

orange jello

This is just a short list. God has given me so much to be thankful for. During this thanksgiving season think about, even write down the things you are thankful for, even the small things..like orange jello :-)

I am redeemed!

Redeem

-to buy back

-to free from what harms

-to atone for

-to remove the obligation of payment

I owed a huge debt that I could not repay. This debt was to God. He required perfection. I am flawed and sinful. I had no chance of paying this debt. There was one person who was able to pay it. His name, Jesus. He lived a perfect life. He was flawless. Never once did He sin. Therefore, Jesus was able free us from the damnation of hell that we deserve. It is because Jesus shed His blood, died on the cross and rose again, that our sins are taken care of.

Isn't awesome that God LOVES us that much that He is willing to sacrifice His son as the payment for OUR sin?

I love this song. The words are powerful and they are so true in my own life.

When I think of all my faults and my failures

When I consider all the times I’ve let God down

I’m humbled by the grace he has extended

I’m amazed at the mercy I have found

I could never earn His love on my own

Yet every time I come before His throne

Chorus:

I stand redeemed by the blood of the lamb

I stand redeemed before the great I am

When He looks at me He see the nailed scarred hands

That bought my liberty, I stand redeemed

Even at my best I am unworthy

I have nothing precious I can give

A broken life is all I have to offer

And yet it is a priceless gift to Him

The bitter mark of sin will never fade away

But I can come before Him unashamed

I screw up.. a lot. I let God down plenty. I don't like that I do, but I am just human so it happens. His grace, His unmerited favor, is awesome. It amazes me that His love for me is that great. I have nothing but my brokenness to offer God, and the cool thing is, that He accepts that. He uses my brokenness. WOW. What an awesome God. Because of the blood of the lamb, because of the nail scarred hands, I stand redeemed!!

My friend,

are you redeemed? Have you accepted that grace that God so freely offers?

If your saying no, then please, allow Him to redeem you. He will do awesome things in your life!

Facing Your Giants

I found the book Facing Your Giants by Max Lucado a few weeks ago at walmart for 5 bucks. although ive got very little money, this was one book i couldnt pass up. I have been wanting to read this book and for 5 bucks, that was a steal!
anyway i started reading it last week. and wow its awesome! It was really spoken to me. I decided to write this blog b/c 1. it will help me to process and better learn and remember what I read, and 2.maybe it will encourage someone. idk but anyway
The first chapter is called facing your giants. Lucado tells the story of David and Goliath in a way that is just awesome to read. He makes a few points that stuck out to me. When we are faced with a problem is that all we see, or do we see God in the midst of it? When David faced Goliath, he faced Him in the power of God Almighty. None of the other Isrealites bothered to even mention God. We have to focus on God not on our problems. We must remain God-focued, not giant-focused.

Another point that Lucado mentions that I loved is that David majored in God. He say the giant, yet He saw God even more so!

1 Samuel 17:45 (New International Version)

David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

To many times we run away from our “giants” when what we need to do is run towards them and do so with a “God-saturated soul.” David ran quickly towards Goliath. (1 Samuel 17:48). The only way to face our giants is to do so with our focus on God. In 2 Samuel David makes only 2 statements regarding Goliath, yet he makes 9 statements about God. Clearly David’s focus was on God and not Goliath! Lucado asks the question, “Do you ponder God’s grace four times as much as you ponder your guilt?” That question made me think. I am one who ponders over guilt again and again. It is something the devil uses to bring me away from God. I was challenged to be mindful of God’s grace and not to forget it and to think on it rather than on all the times I’ve screwed up. I can’t let guilt keep me from being who God wants me to be. That is something that God starting teaching me last semester and I am continuing to learn that lesson!

The last thing that Lucado says that I love is this phrase-

Focus on giants-you stumble

Focus on God-you giants tumble

God can make us people to overcome and defeat giants just like He did with David. That excites me! I am glad to know that I serve a God who can help me overcome the “giants” in my life.

Well, that’s just what I learned from chapter 1. I may write more in the future on the rest chapters. We’ll see!!