Dawn Treader

Healing Begins

2010-08-26T15:29:00.000-04:00

I just heard this song for the first time today and as so many songs do, it really spoke to me and I wanted to share it. So often I fall back into a works based mentality and I build walls, or I try, but freedom and healing comes when you are willing to be broken before God and some of the people He has put in your life to hold you accountable and encourage you... And I love the bridge: "Sparks will fly as grace collides with the dark inside of us. So please don't fight this coming light, Let this blood come cover us, His blood can cover us..."

Lyrics and Video below:

Healing Begins by Tenth Avenue North

So you thought you had to keep this up
All the work that you do
So we think that you're good
And you can't believe it's not enough
All the walls you built up
Are just glass on the outside

So let 'em fall down
There's freedom waiting in the sound
When you let your walls fall to the ground
We're here now

This is where the healing begins, oh
This is where the healing starts
When you come to where you're broken within
The light meets the dark
The light meets the dark

Afraid to let your secrets out
Everything that you hide
Can come crashing through the door now
But too scared to face all your fear
So you hide but you find
That the shame won't disappear

Sparks will fly as grace collides
With the dark inside of us
So please don't fight
This coming light
Let this blood come cover us
His blood can cover us

Me and Superman. We're tight.

2010-07-09T17:11:00.002-04:00

If you know me, you know how much I love Superman! (Especially Tom Welling's Clark Kent on Smallville... but that's another story)

I am now connected to Superman like the 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon.You see I am friends with Marta, a fellow teacher at Berlitz. She is from Poland. From 1995-2001 she worked at a hotel in Orange County California. While working there she met Christopher Reeve. The Christopher Reeve!! You know, SUPERMAN!!!!! That's way less than 6 degrees! That's only one person between me and Christopher Reeves! Which sadly, is as close as I will ever get to him unless I get to meet him in heaven, but that's also another story. He was there along with Teri Hatcher (aka Lois Lane from the Superman movies!) and Marta met her too! Which of course means I am connected to her as well. :)

My little brother is all grown up...

2010-05-12T23:50:00.000-04:00

I cannot believe my kid brother is a college graduate! (And he has already started grad school!) I am very proud of him, can you tell?

The family

"The Lewis Fanatics" - Dr. Charlie Starr

Initial Adjustment

2010-04-03T21:35:00.000-04:00

Today as I was teaching an upper level English student, we read an article about the different stages a person goes through when he or she moves to another country. The first is the Honeymoon Period where everything about the new country and culture seems fascinating. The second is “Culture Shock”, when the person is overwhelmed by everything that is new and different. The third is the “Initial Adjustment” period. This is when the person can successfully navigate everyday tasks in the new culture such as going to the grocery store or a restaurant. At this point the person has probably settled into some kind of routine involving work and some semblance of a social life. The fourth stage is “Mental Isolation”. This is a where now the person is really starting to miss family and friends they’ve been away from for a longer period of time along with other things about their native country and culture. And then finally, the fifth stage is the Adjustment/Integration stage. According to the article the whole process could take about a year!

So, as I told my student today, I think I’m kind of in the “Initial Adjustment” stage where I can handle everyday tasks. I have my job (finally!), I can go to the grocery store, I can go to a restaurant, etc. But I’m definitely still dealing with different aspects of culture shock as well, or maybe it’s part of the “Mental Isolation” part, I don’t know. It does help to know I’ll see my family and a lot of friends in May…

Haiti...

2010-01-14T16:41:00.003-05:00

I want to write more in general and blog more as well. But I never seem to know where to start or what to write about. There's always a plethora of things on my mind... of course right now there is Haiti... and when I think about the tragedy there... all of the loss of life and destruction... well it seems wrong to talk about anything else right now... but I don't have anything to say about it either... it breaks my heart... and I'm praying for the people there... I know several people who have been there on mission trips and one of my friends is engaged to a guy from there... so it hits closer to home than some things that happen in other countries... I guess all I can do is pray and urge you to pray and if you can do more in some kind of financial way or by physically going on a trip to help... than by all means, do so!

From Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY:

"For those who want to help immediately we ask that they donate directly to those agencies who are first responders. These can be either international aid agencies or ones that are located locally but work in Haiti.

Agencies include: GoMinistries, Edge Outreach, American Red Cross and the Salvation Army.

There are many ministries in the process of developing plans for appropriate short and long-term relief.

Ministries we are associated with are:

Edge Outreach: edgeoutreach.com

Go Ministries: go-ministries.org.

We are awaiting information from our members who are missionaries in Haiti as to the true needs and we will be responsive to their direction on what is needed and when. As the needs arrive for skilled workers to help with medical, construction etc., teams could possibly be sent in the months to come."

Copy and pasted from my friend Betsy's blog:

Be a difference maker today!

Edit: Here is a list of some organizations you can support through their efforts for Haiti…

HandsandFeetProject.org

World Vision

Compassion International

Mission of Mercy

Red Cross:
You can also text the word HAITI to 90999 and give to the Red Cross for earthquake relief in Haiti. It will be posted on your cell phone bill.

Salvation Army

Samaritan’s Purse

Vengo a Adorarte

2009-12-27T22:58:00.001-05:00

Adriana, Uli and I singing Vengo a Adorarte (Here I am to Worship) at church on Sunday

Oh luz del mundo, bajaste a la oscuridad,
Mis ojos abriste, pude ver.
Belleza que causa que mi ser te adore,
esperanza de vida en ti.

Vengo a adorarte, vengo a postrarme
Vengo a decirte eres mi Dios.
Eres simplemente bello, simplemente digno
Tan maravilloso para mí.

Oh rey eterno, tan alto y exaltado,
glorioso en el cielo eres tu.
Al mundo que hiciste, humilde viniste,
pobre te hiciste por amor.

Nunca sabré cuanto costo,
Ver mi pecado en la cruz.

Why Santa Claus is still alright with me...

2009-12-13T01:55:00.002-05:00

Some Christians don't want their kids to believe in Santa Claus because they are afraid that when they find out he isn't real they will think God is not real. And that's fine for them. But here is why Santa Claus is okay in my book:

"I suspect that fairy tales and Santa Claus do prepare us to embrace the ultimate Fairy Tale, the one Lewis believed was ingrained in our being."(1)

I agree with the above quote whole heartedly. C. S. Lewis described the Truth of God sending his son, Jesus, into the world to live among humanity and then die for their sins as "the Myth that became Fact". He spoke of "Phantastes", by George MacDonald, as "baptizing his imagination". It, along with the other stories that stirred his heart and mind, prepared him and helped pushed him towards his eventual acceptance of the True Story, the Gospel Story. After all, God has "set eternity in the hearts of men". He draws us to Himself through the very longings for the heroic and the fantastic that He puts within us!

Back to Santa... "New research from the Université de Montréal and the University of Ottawa indicates that children aren't overly troubled upon learning that Santa is a myth. But the researchers remained puzzled because while children eventually abandon Santa, they keep believing in God. Lewis would say this is because God is real, but Mr. Dawkins fears it is the lasting damage of fairy tales. While Mr. Dawkins stands ironically alongside Puritans in his readiness to ban fairy tales, Christian apologists like Lewis and Chesterton embraced them, precisely because to embrace Christian dogma is to embrace the extrarational."(1)

I am living proof that a child can be raised in a Christian home (a preacher's kid at that!), allowed to believe in Santa, while still learning that Christmas is really all about Jesus.

My dear friend Megan is another example. She writes, "As a child I believed in Santa. When I was too old to believe in Santa, and knew better, I still wanted him to be real. I wanted to believe there was a place where magic, and wonder, and happiness, a perpetual child's wonderland, so to speak, existed untouched, unspoiled. Now I know that place does exist, just not anywhere on earth. At least not yet. But I have that hope in Christ. And every year, Father Christmas is a type, a reminder or a shadow of the Father of this world who sent His son as a ransom for my life. I need this reminding every year as the trivial trials and events cause my focus to waver off that which is most important." (Megan Missler)

All I can say to that is me too Megan, me too. :-)

(1) These quotes were taken from "OK, Virginia, There's No Santa Claus. But There Is God". You can read the article in its entirety here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122963990662019887.html

Overwhelmed by God's provision...

2009-11-19T19:44:00.000-05:00

So I've been praying a lot lately for God to make things very clear for me regarding decisions about jobs and staying or going and how long and money...

And God did just that. He has made things clear enough for the foreseeable future.

Praise God! Praise Him for His marvelous works! Praise Him in His sanctuary!
Let everything that Has breath praise the Lord!
Give thanks to the Lord for He is good!
His Love endures forever!

Some inspriration from C. S. Lewis

2009-11-14T01:33:00.000-05:00

“It is a dreadful truth that the sate of having to depend solely on God is what we all dread most. And of course that just shows how very much, how almost exclusively, we have been depending on things. But… we will not turn to him as long as He leaves us anything else to turn to… It is good of Him to force us; but dear me, how hard to feel that it is good at the time.” (C. S. Lewis in a letter to a friend)

“The thing is to rely only on God. The time will come when you will regard all this misery as a small price to pay for having been brought to that dependence. Meanwhile (don’t I know) the trouble is that relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done.” (Lewis again in another letter to a friend)

A Song that is encouraging to me

2009-11-09T16:38:00.000-05:00

For Such a Time as This

Crystal Lewis

I built my house here
long side this mountain
This rugged mountain that stands so tall
I've had a good life
Above the lowlands
It's more than I asked for, but less than I dreamed
I've often heard a voice call down to me
If you'd climb higher you'd find wondrous things to see
But the way is steep
And a storm may come...

For such a time as this
Isn't it much to great a risk
I've never flown from the edge of a cliff
Never walked on the water
But if I turned away
How would I know what I have missed
Have I waited all of my life
For such a time as this

I've been content to not ask those questions
That stir the waters and move the waves
The windless waters are so much more peaceful
They calm my spirit in silent song
I've often wondered what's eluding me
The yearning's meant to free me from complacency
But the way is steep
And a storm my come...

For such a time as this
Isn't it much to great a risk
I've never flown from the edge of a cliff
Never walked on the water
But if I turned away
How would I know what I have missed
Have I waited all of my life
For such a time as this

Sometimes the thrill of soaring has to begin with the fear of falling...

For such a time as this
Isn't it much to great a risk
I've never flown from the edge of a cliff
Never walked on the water
But if I turned away
How would I know what I have missed
Have I waited all of my life
For such a time as this

a poem inspired by the style of dr. seuss and my intense dislike of beans...

2009-11-09T02:23:00.001-05:00

i don't like beans of any kind
yes it is true, i always find

i don't like beans, it's not just in my mind!

refried, pinto, black eyed pea,

they all taste the same to me
(and that's no good so please let me be!)

i do not like any kind of bean!

(well maybe green,
but even of those i'm not always so keen)

i don't like them in Monterrey

anymore than i did in the USA

refried, pintos, black eyed peas,
i would NOT like them at Mick-y-dees

i did not like them at Girard Drive
i will not like them as long as i'm alive!

Attacked by a Wild Animal!

2009-10-29T01:07:00.001-04:00

I forgot to mention I was attacked by wild animals today! Well actually only one. And it was a duck, It was white and used it's bill to attack me! I nearly tripped over the dumb bird at first before I even realized there was an animal underfoot! Then it kept pecking at my shoes and my lower leg around my ankle! I couldn’t get it to leave me alone! And I kept nearly tripping over it! This continued for several minutes. Finally, it lost interest or something. So there you go. I can now say that I have been attacked by a duck.

I also forgot to mention the scenic drive Anita took me on this afternoon, but pictures tell that story far better than words.

McDonald's etc.

2009-10-28T19:42:00.001-04:00

So I went to McDonalds today where I learned that they don’t start serving lunch until 12:00 and it was only 11:00, so I got a breakfast item off of the menu and went for it “Mexican style” thinking it would just be the eggs that would have the peppers and stuff in them, which they did, and it was good, but they also put beans and cheese on the McMuffin on the platter instead of the bisquit with gravy that I was expecting. And you know how I feel about beans! (Or maybe you don’t, but now you do) I do not like them! At all! So I won’t be getting it “Mexican style” the next time. But that’s okay. Live and learn. It’s pretty sweet to be sitting at McDonalds and see Cerra de la Silla in the background.

Oh, on Saturday I got to see not one but two different movies in Spanish in a movie theatre here. The first was El Delphin and the second was El Estudiante. I understood enough to enjoy the movies, but I would really like to see El Estudiante again sometime with subtitles or something because I enjoyed it a lot and wish I could have understood all of the dialogue.

And Sunday night was a big ole long youth rally where 6 of the Churches of Christ in Monterrey got together for about 2 ½ hours of singing and preaching and then had some good food and fellowship afterwards. It was a lot of fun.

Sunday Morning

2009-10-27T00:29:00.001-04:00

I sang "Desde mi interior" (From the Inside Out) by Hillsong on Sunday morning. It was fun to be able to sing in their language and know they were understanding what I was singing this time.

Desde mi interior (From the inside out)
A veces te fallé, mas tú fuiste fiel,
Tu gracia me levantó, me basta tu amor,
Dios eterno, tu luz por siempre brillará
Y tu gloria, incomparable sin final.

Señor, tu voluntad permanecerá,
En ti me quiero perder en adoración,
Dios eterno, tu luz por siempre brillará
Y tu gloria, incomparable sin final.

De mi corazón te doy el control,
Consume todo mi interior, Dios.
Justicia y amor me abrazan, Señor,
Te amo desde mi interior.

Dios eterno, tu luz por siempre brillará,
Y tu gloria, incomparable sin final.
El clamor de mi ser es contigo estar
Desde mi interior mi alma clamará.

Lost in Translation...

2009-10-19T16:45:00.000-04:00

Obviously there is the main area of translation from Spanish to English... but my friend Lauren recently posted on some of the same things I was going to talk about as well. That is the other differences my brain must translate being here in Monterrey:

Fahrenheit to Celsius - I can cheat though when I´m in my car because it will tell me the temperature in either one. And either way, I knew it was HOT last week when it was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit and I was glad when it cooled down starting Friday.

Miles to Kilometers - This is also taking some getting used to. The speed limit on the roads resembling highways around Monterrey is usually 80km/hr which is about 50-55mph. But while I´m on the subject, let me just say that driving in Monterrey is... interesting, to say the least... confusing and intimidating and somewhat scary at times would be some potential ways to elaborate... :) I´m sure part of that is simply because it is all unfamiliar and I´m hoping that it will get better once I become more familiar with the roads and interchanges and exits and uturns...

Dollars to Pesos - When I arrived the exchange rate was 13 pesos = 1 dollar. But that fluctuates all of the time. And it´s easy enough to do conversions using 10... so a lot of times I just do that. For example, at the book fair I got to go to The price for one of the Chronicles of Narnia was $99 pesos, so in my head I think that´s a little less than $10 USD, but it´s actually $7.62 USD. And if you´re wondering, no, I did not purchase them. But I did walk away with 5 books for under $10 USD ($125 pesos). And since I´m sure you´re curious I will go ahead and tell you which ones: 1984, Romeo y Julieta, Sonetos (Shakespeare), La Odiseay (Homer), and Un Mundo Feliz, which while literally translated "A Happy World" is actually Brave New World.

Gallons to Liters - So I have no idea if gas is cheaper or more expensive here than it is in the States...

One last fun fact: The shows and movies I´ve watched in Spanish so far include: Loony Toons, Sponge Bob Square Pants, NCIS, Chicken Run, Hitch, Pearl Harbor, and I´m pretty sure that one of the versions of Power Rangers was on the other morning. And on Saturday I got to go to an "Obra Musical" (play musical) called Desafio del Fuego (Challenge of the Fire or Fire Challenge). I enjoyed it very much and understood more of it than I thought I would. Two of Anita´s students from UVM were in it and that´s why she wanted to go see it. It turned out to be a Christian Musical too.

Until next time,
¡Vay con Dios!

In Monterrey at last...

2009-10-11T21:20:00.000-04:00

After more than 1,400 miles and over 24 hours in the car I am here. I arrived around 9:30pm (central time) on Friday night after some delay at the border. Once I found where I needed to go to get my tourist visa and car permit I was good to go, but that took longer than it should have...

Saturday was a relaxing day and Anita took me to a book fair that it going on right now and then she drove me around the city some.

Today (Sunday) was church of course. They have their first service of the day at 10am. Everyone is together for lots of singing and prayer requests and then the ´kids´ go to their classes and the adults stay for the sermon. This part was finished around 12:30pm at which time we break for lunch. Some stay to eat there, but most go home or go get something to eat somewhere else. Then at 2:00 we meet again for more singing and another sermon/lesson time. I´m not sure what time that was over, but I do know that it was 5:00 when most everyone had left.

Well, that´s enough for now, until next time,

¡Vaya con Dios!

And the journey begins...

2009-10-07T16:24:00.000-04:00

Well I am officially leaving tomorrow and should be arriving in Monterrey on Friday evening! Your prayers are much appreciated for safe travel and especially as I cross the border on Friday afternoon and drive the last leg of the journey to Monterrey.

I won't have internet access where I will be staying at least for awhile but I should be able to do quick updates from an internet cafe.

Thank you so much for your prayers!!!!

2009-10-06T12:31:00.002-04:00

still here but I think I'm leaving soon...

Still here...

2009-10-03T00:05:00.001-04:00

See what I mean?
Planning on leaving Sunday now...
Lord willing...

T-minus 4 days and counting...

2009-09-27T20:07:00.004-04:00

I think. I mean, that's the tentative plan as long as Anita or one of her friends can meet me at the border on Saturday... I hesitate to say with any amount of certainty "this is what I am going to do." I think I have a new or deeper appreciation of the following verse:

"Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." You don't even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." (James 4:13-15)

I must admit, I used to think it sounded kind of over the top to preface every statement with "Lord willing..." -- but I think I might be starting to get it a little more now. So why all this rambling on about plans changing? Well, as you may have guessed by now, plans have changed... again... but I'm still planning on going down to Monterrey, MX, Lord willing! But instead of teaching at UVM I'm following a lead to teach with Berlitz, an English Language School. http://www.berlitz.com.mx/ So that is not a definite thing yet either, but it's looking like a probability at this point. So please keep all of this in your prayers! And pray for Anita and her sister and UVM.
Thank you!

Adventure Time

2009-08-07T00:38:00.004-04:00

I am moving to Mexico in less than 2 weeks to teach English at Univesidad del Valle de Mexico.

http://www.monterrey.uvmnet.edu/

http://www.monterrey.uvmnet.edu/instalaciones/tour.asp

The school is a private university and is ranked 6 or 7 in the country out of all of the public and private universities.

Monterray is about 150 miles from Laredo, TX

This is a huge step of faith for me but I've seen God orchestrate this whole thing and drop this in my lap and make me willing to go! I'm excited about it and nervous and scared, but mostly excited. Please keep me in your prayers!

Much

2009-06-28T00:47:00.003-04:00

So much to say...
So many thoughts, so little clarity.
So many questions, so few answers.
So many dreams, so little action.
So many doubts, so little faith.
So many fears, so little trust.
So much uncertainty, so little stability.

But God is much bigger than my thoughts,
He is bigger than my fears,
He is bigger than the struggles that I face throughout my years.
He's much bigger than my doubts,
much bigger than my dreams
He is bigger than all my problems, so much bigger than they seem.
He's got much better things in store for me
this one thing I know for sure
He is everything I'm looking for, He's this and so much more...

How He Loves

2009-06-01T20:03:00.001-04:00

This is a powerful song, we sang it at Best 8 Days, we've also sung it at The Post at Southeast, but the point is... it's a good song... powerful lyrics that speak Truth into my soul and I hope it does the same for you:

How He Loves by John Mark Mcmillan
He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realise just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
So Heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way…

Yeah, He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves.

Beautiful Sound [update]

2009-05-03T15:01:00.006-04:00

Beautiful Sound
By Matt Bayless

We hear the beautiful sound
A place where hope can be found
Join with all heaven now
Lift up your voice and sing
Salvation’s freedom is found
In hearts that shout Your Glory
So let our praises ring out
To Christ our risen King

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! He reigns!

We hear the beautiful sound
A place where hope can be found
Join with all heaven now
Lift up your voice and sing
Salvation’s freedom is found
In hearts that shout Your Glory
So let our praises ring out
To Christ our risen King

Let the whole praise our God
Let the whole world sing His glory
Come and see what He has done

--------------------------------------------
I recently learned this song at Southeast and I love it!
You can watch a video of them doing this song at The Block launch party.
or on YouTube:

The Great Story

2009-04-27T16:47:00.002-04:00

'The term is over, the holidays have begun. The dream is ended, this is the morning.' And as He spoke He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read, which goes on forever in which every chapter is better than the one before.

C. S. Lewis, The Last Battle

Obedience

2009-04-23T00:38:00.002-04:00

"Be not deceived, Wormwood, our cause is never more in jeopardy than when a human, no longer desiring but still intending to do Our Enemy's will, looks round upon a universe in which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys."
-C. S. Lewis, Screwtape Letters

How Should We Pray When We Suffer?

2009-04-20T01:25:00.003-04:00

Here are some excerpts from a blog I just read that really resonated with me. It was on The Resurgence blog and it was written by Jonathan Dodson.

How Should We Pray When We Suffer?
In Psalm 4 "David barges into God's presence and declares: "Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!" in a display of such daring boldness, such urgency, and such humility. All too often our daring prayers are prayers that sprout from pride, not humility, and from anger, not desperation. Our "answer me when I call" becomes a cry of disgust, not desperation."

I want release from the pain...

"But God wanted me to linger in the pain and the suffering until I was desperate, not for kindness and vindication from men, but for grace and mercy from him to endure hardship."

"

How Then Should We Pray?

How should we pray when we suffer?

Honestly and with humility.
Boldly and with confidence in his blessing.
Desperately, with our eyes not on our escape, but upon our Lord.
Hopefully, by directing our hope to the grace that comes through a cross, not a courtroom.
Repentantly, as we let go of sinful demands for vindication and cling to his provision in self-sacrificing propitiation.
Pietistically, wanting more than anything a deeper communion with Him.
Lovingly, seeking to obtain that mercy for our suffering in order to turn it into grace for our attackers.
Thankfully, for his perfect design and provision in our suffering to bring us the greatest good.
Worshipfully, acknowledging that Christ alone is sufficient for our failures and our sufferings."

Read the whole thing here: How Should We Pray When We Suffer?

church stuff

2009-04-04T02:44:00.002-04:00

We're getting ready to go through what is sure to be an incredible series at The Post. Check out a short video from our leaders for an overview of what is to come: http://postworship.squarespace.com/

Also, I got to tour "The Block" today and it was flippin phenomenal! I am beyond pumped for all that God is going to do through this amazing tool. Only 20 more days! http://seetheblock.com

Bible Study Magazine

2009-03-30T12:55:00.000-04:00

Bible Study Magazine and Mars Hill are giving away 20 copies of Mark Driscoll’s new book, Vintage Church. Not only that, but they are also giving away five subscriptions to Bible Study Magazine and a copy of their Bible Study Library software! Enter to win on the Bible Study Magazine Mark Driscoll page, then take a look at all the cool tools they have to take your Bible study to the next level!

Purple Sweet Potatoes!

2008-12-27T21:26:00.004-05:00

This is a shameless plug for my Aunt Janice and Uncle Mike. They grow purple sweet potatoes in Stokes County in North Carolina!
This article talks about it some.

Their website is http://www.SauraPride.com and you should check it out. :)

Learn more about purple sweet potatoes by clicking this link.

What if it's God speaking?

2008-11-23T23:23:00.000-05:00

Desert Places

2008-11-21T15:05:00.004-05:00

My Bible Study group has been journeying through the book of Exodus with Moses and the Israelites from yore. We've gone through chapter 20 where God gives Moses the Ten Commandments. As we’ve studied, we’ve pondered the connections between the Israelites journey from slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land and our own lives; how we’ve been rescued from the bondage to sin and death and our destination is a Promised Land, Heaven, Eternity in communion with God and each other… But what about the part where we, like the Israelites, find ourselves wandering in the desert. There are times when it seems all roads lead to the desert, and it is in these times we see what is truly in our hearts. These times are difficult and humbling, they test our faith more than any other time. Am I willing to be obedient in the desert times? When God feels far away? When there is pain and fear and doubt? Or am I only obedient when it’s convenient, when it’s easy, when things seem good…

When God leads us into the desert, he is humbling us, causing us to hunger and thirst for Him, for His righteousness, and then he feeds us with Him, His conviction, His kindness that leads to repentance. Maybe it’s a financial crisis and God wants to provide for me in different ways, like clothing that never wore out for the Israelites, and the manna God provided the exact right amount for each day. Maybe it is seeing God sustain us through circumstances we could not see ourselves through on our own strength.

I am understanding more and more the words of C. S. Lewis about how “pain is God’s megaphone”; we are so thickheaded and stubborn we just won’t let God have His way with us when things are going good! But when we are in pain, let us be quick to turn to Him. May we not fear the Refiner’s fire because we know Who is holding us. The Holy Spirit of God who is interceding for us with groans our words cannot express, is living inside of us, closer than our breath, closer than our heartbeat. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” God is drawing us closer.

What if?

2008-11-15T15:38:00.003-05:00

(I totally grabbed this video off of Jessica's blog, but I didn't think she'd mind :)

What if we didn't just watch the video and get chills and think, "yeah, that's a good idea." and go about our usual routines. What if every single one of us who was convicted when we watched that actually ACTED on that conviction? What if we always acted on conviction? I want to move into ACTION, not just stay in thought-world (as much as I love the land of the theoretical...).

Time

2008-10-03T20:12:00.002-04:00

I really should update this blog more often. I want to write more. It's just that pesky little matter of time. How there's a limited ammount of it and I seem to be really good at wasting it...

I'm really excited about the paper I'm writing for my Postmodern Culture class right now. Except that it's due Monday and it's not exactly done yet... Hopefully I can shape parts of it into a blog post once it's finished. I also keep meaning to post another thankfulness post... I'm really bad at that, even though I'm thankful for a lot of things!

God's been really busy "stirring my pot" as one of my friends likes to word it... she then got a big kick out of it when I told her about the mission statement of The Post being "to be a community in motion STIRRED by God to change the world"

But yeah... about that paper...

Thankful Saturday? (Vol. 2)

2008-08-30T16:55:00.003-04:00

How can someone with so much to say write so little?

So... that whole "Thankful Thursday" thing hasn't worked out so well...
I still want to do it... but it seems to be a bigger challenge for me to blog regularly than I thought.
Hmm, I suppose I should go ahead and blog about what I'm thankful for today since I haven't done that since July 15th... and now it's almost September... how did that happen?

Okay, so today I am thankful:

-That God has provided me with so many friends who love me deeply and pray for me often.
-For the wonderful Bible Study group God has blessed me with that kicks off on Wednesday.
-For the opportunity to be finishing a Master's degree (I'm in my second to last class right now!).
-That God helped me pass that Spanish Translation Exam that I took back in July.
-For wonderful parents who love me more than I can really know or understand fully at this point in my life.
-For my fantastic brother who I get to go on a road-trip with next weekend to visit family in NC.

Thankful Tuesday? (Vol. 1)

2008-07-15T16:22:00.003-04:00

So maybe I was just kidding about the Sunday thing, maybe I’m succumbing to that alliteration move with “Thankful Tuesday”. Or maybe I will defy the need to do it on the same day every week. I don’t know. But for the sake of consistency, I do hope I can pick a day. Maybe you’ll just never know, will it be Tuesday or Sunday? Hmm… At any rate, that is not the point of this post. The point of this post is to reflect on some things that I am thankful for and thank God for them!

-I am thankful that God helped me finish one more paper on my journey to get my Master’s.
-I am thankful that I at least feel like I did well on the translation exam I took on Saturday (another requirement for my Master’s)
-I am thankful for a break from class.
-I am thankful for the opportunity to spend 4 days at White Mills Christian Camp with second and third graders and my brother and cousins.
-I am thankful that my hand is healing. (Long story)
-I am thankful for the opportunity to go visit a very dear friend from college in just a few weeks!
-I am thankful that I can go to The Post tonight at Southeast Christian Church and be encouraged and worship with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
-I am thankful for all the ways God continues to get me through each day, even the hard ones.

-This includes the wonderful friends God has provided to encourage and admonish me!

I’m sure there is much more, but I’ve got to leave some for next week :)

It is Coming...

2008-07-11T14:33:00.001-04:00

What is coming you may ask? (or you may not, but I will answer anyway.)
Some more regulated substantial blogging from me! Aren't you excited? (I don't even know who "you" is anymore. It might just be one or two people but you know what? That's okay too, because the nature of these new more regulated substantial blogs is such that it's really not about you anyway :) but it's not about me either! That's the great thing! So what am I talking about? Well, my xanga friend, Renaissance_Phoenix has been blogging weekly on things she is thankful for? Why? Well, because in the Bible, God tells us to give thanks in all circumstances. This has been one of those themes that has kept coming up in my life for well over a year or two now and I figured maybe, just maybe I should give it a try. And what I mean by that is I am going to be more intentional in being thankful to God for all of the blessings and even all of the tough stuff - which I usually don't feel like being thankful for. Renaissance_Phoenix did her thankful blog on Thursdays, and that does have that nice alliterative thing going for it. (Seriously, go check out the entry on stuffchristianslike.net on alliteration and sermons - it's hysterical - and is the reason I laughed when Dave Stone said, "The Church is a Colossal Collection of Committed Christians.")

ANYWAY. I think Sunday will be my day to post on what I am thankful for, not for some super holy reason like it's "The Lord's Day" but because I think I generally have more time on Sundays than other days of the week to commit myself to blogging weekly on that day. So. There you go. In the meantime, go read Renaissance_Phoenix's latest entry on her year of thankfulness and go read stuffchristianslike.net.

The Objective of Life?

2008-06-09T13:00:00.004-04:00

I think the vast majority of us live under one very incorrect assumption about the object of this life on earth. By “us” I am talking about Christians. We think that once we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and are baptized into him for the forgiveness of our sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit, that the objective of our lives is to avoid pain and suffering and be “happy”. We might not word it as such, or say it out loud, but that assumption seems to be at the heart of our frustration and dejection when we do experience pain and suffering – when life is hard more than it is easy. But what if the point isn’t to avoid pain and suffering? What if the point is to be refined in whatever fires God knows we need to cause us to recognize our utter dependence on Him daily – not just for salvation? What if the very things we are running from and ignoring and hiding are the very things God wants to use for His glory to be made known in our lives and in the lives of those around us?

Maybe that is why James said to “consider it pure joy” when we face trials of many kinds – and he did say “when”, not “if”. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4) Of course I also know that these words fall on deaf ears sometimes. There are times when all I can see is the situation that I want “fixed” and I’m not even willing to try to look at it from God’s perspective. But He is so patient to bring me back to my knees, humbled again, repentant and longing for more of Him. It’s not all that difficult for me to wrap my mind around these concepts. The difficult part is walking them out, over and over again, day by day, hour by hour, minute my minute. But thanks be to God that “He who began a good work in [us] will be faithful to complete it”! (Philippians 1:6)

I like this quote by Charles Spurgeon in reference to God using our trials for His glory in the lives of those around us:

“I often feel very grateful to God that I have undergone fearful depression. I know the borders of despair and the horrible brink of that gulf of darkness into which my feet have almost gone. But hundreds of times I have been able to give a helpful grip to brethren and sisters who have come into that same condition, which grip I could never have given if I had not known their despondency. So I believe that the darkest and most dreadful experience of a child of God will help him to be a fisher of men if he will but follow Christ.”

That’s all for now. I do feel the need to write a disclaimer that I probably will need to be reminded of the very things I’ve typed, if not later today, than probably tomorrow. :)

Leading like Jesus

2008-04-03T19:26:00.001-04:00

"The power of leading like Jesus can be poured only into a surrendered heart and can flow only out of a surrendered heart. There is no shortcut around Self that will allow you to lead like Jesus."

I read this quote somewhere recently and I don't know where it's from, but I really like it. God keeps teaching me a lot about pride and humility (can you say "ouch"?) and this quote gets at the heart of the matter for me.

"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things." -Philippians 3:7-8

The Journey is the Destination

2008-02-10T21:48:00.001-05:00

I have the inclination to write a substantial blog about what God has been teaching me lately and yet I'm having a hard time making myself focus long enough to write a coherent articulation of those things. Therefore, here is a preview in bullets:

-- "The present is the point at which time touches eternity." - C.S. Lewis

-- "The Miracle of the Moment" (SCC) - not taking moments for granted but taking each one as an opportunity to be to the glory of God.

-- This is connected to the way I spend my time. ("Sometimes I feel disappointed by the way I spend my time. How can I further Your Kingdom when I'm so wrapped up in mine?" - Mercy Me)

-- Ben Hardman talked about moments some tonight at The Post. (Commemorating moments like Abraham did with the alters…)

-- “The Journey is the Destination” -- to expound: worshiping God is not a means to an end. It is an end - it is the point - everything else: the way I spend my time, the things I do, the things I say, the things I think about, these are the means to the end: worshiping God... with my life.

-- God said to Abraham, “go to the land I will show you” (Gen 12:1-2), God didn’t tell him exactly where or how or why, He just said go, and Abraham followed where God led him. It was a call to leave his comfort zone.

-- Am I willing to go where God is calling me? Even if I don’t know exactly where that is? I want to be.

Psalm 51 - Neyhart's Paraphrase

2006-08-06T23:29:00.001-04:00

As I may have already mentioned on here, my Sunday School class at Southeast is doing a study on spiritual disciplines. This week's challenge set before us was regarding meditation. We were given a specific challenge within that (which I like) - that was to find a Psalm that you like / resonate with and rewrite it in your own words, with your own emotions/circumstances (probably not being chased by an army into a cave like David was... most of us anyway) and so on. I was pretty excited about it and got started already - let me know what you think.

Psalm 51

(Neyhart’s paraphrase)**

(1) Most Holy God and merciful Father, show me Your grace.

You are as loving and compassionate as You are just;

Not that I deserve it, but because of Your love,

please give me a clean slate.

(2) Wash me thoroughly in the blood of the Lamb;

Remove my sin completely, purify me.

(3) Lord I know I keep messing up, my sin is my shame;

It is always at the front of my mind.

(4) Worst of all, it is You I have sinned against,

I’ve let You down, doing the exact opposite of what You want me to do.

My ultimate crime is against You and Your Holy Law –

I might as well have been the one who nailed my Savior to the cross.

So You are right in Your verdict,

and blameless when You pronounce judgment

(5) I’ve been sinful my whole life;

My very nature has been fighting against You since I was born

(6) But what You want from me is true sincerity in my inmost being

You are writing on my heart Your Truth.

(7) Purge me of my sin completely,

and I will be spiritually cleansed;

Wash me in the blood of Jesus,

and I will be whiter than freshly fallen snow.

(8) Fill me with Your joy again,

That this sinner who was broken,

Collapsing under guilt and shame,

May rejoice in You Lord once again.

(9) Please don’t look at my sins a second longer,

Erase all of them forever

(10) Create a clean heart in me Father - give me a fresh start,

And renew a right, unwavering spirit within me.

(11) Do not make me leave Your presence,

And don’t stop working on me with Your Spirit.

(12) Restore to me the joy of Your salvation

And sustain me with Your Spirit.

(13) Then I will teach the lost Your ways,

That they too may find their life in You.

(14) Deliver me from the guilt of disobedience Father, God of my salvation

And my voice will sing loud of Your righteousness.

(15) Lord open my mouth and I will declare Your praise

(16) For You do not want me going through the motions anymore.

What You want is genuine repentance

(17)That comes from a broken spirit – and shattered pride.

A broken, repentant heart, full of godly sorrow,

You will not turn away.

(18) Do good for Your kingdom Lord;

Build Your church.

(19) Then there will be righteous sacrifices;

Genuine praise and offerings to delight You;

There will be sacrifices of praise in abundance offered to You.

** I used the Message, TNIV, The New King James Version, and notes from the Macarthur Study Bible and Charles Spurgeon’s Treasury of David to help in my paraphrase of the Psalm

Media vs. Me

2006-07-28T18:04:00.001-04:00

"We live, in fact, in a world starved for solitude, silence, and private: and therefore starved for meditation and true friendship." C.S. Lewis

Well that quote is very timely for me to read - since last Sunday the challenge issued by the teacher of my Sunday School class was to set aside a 30 minute block, 3 days for a time of solitude with God. No TV, no music, no people, just you and God, and maybe a journal/Bible. I realized that the thought of silent solitude scares me. Just me and my thoughts is not usually a place I like to be. But despite my hesitations and the fact that I was with 2nd and 3rd graders Sunday-Wednesday, I was able to seize some chunks of time to try the solitude thing. The first time a verse kept rolling around in my head;

"For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope, and a future."

The next day I discovered that verse to be one of the memory verses for the campers for the week. (I probably memorized it at a week of camp back in the day myself, come to think of it...) Not surprisingly, now that I'm back surrounded by my computer, and the T. V. and my C.D. player, etc, though I have more time, I am much more easily distracted... I need to fast from media.