About as Emo as I Get

I am not a sad person by nature. I could probably count on one hand the number of times in my life that I have felt "depressed." This week has been one of those times. It's probably a combination of a lot of things going on in my life right now. Things are changing. I have some tough decisions to make regarding my future. The earthquakes in Haiti really shook me up. And then a friend passed away unexpectedly. I know that my life is so blessed. I don't usually have much to be sad about. I am kind of taking this opportunity to have a new experience. By allowing myself to feel sad, I hope I will be able to use the memory to relate to people who are hurting. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."

I wrote this and it is on the Conference website. Is it a sin to be proud of myself?  :)


http://www.northalabamaumc.org/news/detail/601

Experiencing God and "Gettin' Saved"

   Tonight, I came across a blog that is written by a lady who goes to the church where I teach preschool (she's a truck driver - which, for some reason, I think is really cool!). I have never met her, but the internet is exciting like that - it lets you get to know people you never would have otherwise. Anyway, her blog entry, HERE, compares the different types of learning to different ways of experiencing God. Everyone learns differently; some people can hear something and remember it right off, some people learn by seeing, and some need to write things down. Experiencing God in one's life is like that. Not everyone is touched by Him in the same way. Jacob had a vision of God and wrestled with Him. Elijah heard a still, small, voice. I experience God every day through my relationships with people that He has put into my path.
   Junebug56 told a story on her blog about when she was a teenager and a friend told her about "getting saved." As hard as she prayed, the sixteen-year-old didn't feel a difference in her relationship with God. Then she realized that not everyone will experience that heady rush of feeling that some get when they are in God's presence. She interacts with God in her own way. I love what she says about being in a relationship with Him. "God loves me. He knows me. He does speak to me. In His own way and in mine."
   Her story reminded me of a funny tale my cousins told at Thanksgiving last week. When Betsy and Cindy were teenagers, they went to a church event with a Baptist friend of theirs. When they got home, they told their mom that they had been "saved." A devoted Methodist, my aunt said "no, you did NOT get saved! You go back to school and tell those people that you did NOT get saved!" My whole family hooted as my cousins told us the story, but we related to it, too. Of course, my aunt didn't object to her daughters accepting Jesus into their hearts. I think she just objected to the public declaration of being "saved." She knew that our neighbors are not the judges of our salvation; our relationships with Christ are very personal and individual. As for me, I can't name a specific event when I "got saved." I have gradually grown in my relationship with Jesus Christ as I go throughout life, having adventures, making mistakes, and experiencing God's grace every time he forgives me yet again. (I'm so glad Jesus wasn't speaking literally when he said to forgive your neighbor 490 times. I am WAY over that benchmark, and he just keeps on forgiving me!) He speaks to me daily through my jobs, my family and friends, and sometimes through a stranger's blog. Isn't that just awesome of Him?!

Ok God, I Get It. I'm a Chicken! Cluck, Cluck!

There's not much point in me having two blogs if I'm just going to repost everything I write on my bible blog onto this one, but I'm going to do it anyway because I'm excited about it!

Luke 19:26 (The Message). Risk your life and get more than you ever dreamed of. Play it safe and end up holding the bag.

This verse is the moral of Jesus' parable about the rich man who gave his servants money to hold for him. The servants who invested it and made more money were rewarded, but the one servant who buried his in the ground was punished. I'm not sure if I really understand what Jesus was getting at - some of the parables are a bit beyond me - but I take it as a reflection on our lives as Christian. If you are a "safe" Christian, you just go about your life loving Jesus, but you don't get out into the world and spread his message of love and forgiveness. If you are the type of person that Jesus wants you to be, you do everything you can to spread the word about him, even at risk to your comfortable life.

   I will readily, though not proudly, admit that I am a safe Christian. I think I mentioned in a previous post that I am not a brave or strong person at all. I'm pretty average on the courage front, even leaning a little bit towards chicken. I don't stand on high things, ride roller coasters, touch bugs, or tell strangers about Jesus. Heck, I rarely even tell my friends about Jesus! I have definitely been a chicken when it comes to following God's wishes. I always have some excuse, but usually the truth is that I'm just plain scared! It might seem to some people that this way would be the most comfortable way to live, and that is the truth! But who really wants a totally comfortable life? For all my fears, I really like adventure! I love to travel and try new things. I can't think of any greater excitement than following God's perfect plan and being his disciple. Think about the prophets. Do you think Moses, Daniel or Paul wished for a more comfortable, dull life? No! Their lives were exciting and fulfilling because of what God did through them. They weren't scared, or if they were, they didn't let it stop them! I want to let God take me on my life's greatest adventures, and with him at my side, who could be afraid?

Lord, you are the king of excitement! I don't want to be a safe Christian and only do comfortable things. I want to have adventures with you! The problem is, I'm scared. I have gotten too comfortable in my own life. I need you to shake things up! Use me for your will! I'm terrified as I'm writing this, but I know that you will give me the strength to do whatever needs to be done. Thank you so much, Father! Amen!

The Stuff Challenge!

I am copying this from my bible study blog so you can see it.

Luke 18:29-30 No one who has sacrificed home, spouse, brothers and sisters, parents, children—whatever—will lose out. It will all come back multiplied many times over in your lifetime. And then the bonus of eternal life!

Jesus has been telling a rich man that the way for him to have eternal life is to give up all of his possessions. Peter, being the suck-up that he always is, chimes in with "We left everything we owned and followed you, didn't we?" Jesus tells him that they will be rewarded for their sacrifice while they're on earth, but even better, they will live forever in heaven!

The issue of material possessions is a hot one in this day and age. We are so obsessed with wealth and stuff. I love stuff. Only a few minutes ago, I caught myself getting mesmerized by a Target commercial! Stuff is a big stumbling block for me. I don't have a problem with money — I can give it away just as easily as I can spend it. It's the stuff I can buy with the money that really gets me. Oh, I know that possessions shouldn't be so important to me. I know I can't take my new shoes to heaven with me. But somehow I always turn back to shopping for a feel-good outlet. Recently, God has been putting this on my heart. One of our scriptures last week talked about worldly things and our preoccupation with them. It was Luke 12:29-32- "What I'm trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works." I woke up the next morning, which happened to be pay day, and thought, "I am not going to buy anything this month and see what happens." I knew that God had put this challenge on my heart for a reason. I was up for it, but before I could stop myself I started thinking about what cool things I could buy at the end of the month with the money I had saved. Then I heard a very distinct voice in my head say "No. Give it away." I rolled my eyes in disgust at myself. Of course, give it away! What good would it do me to go the whole month without shopping, just to blow it on November 1? So, I made a commitment to refrain from buying all the extras I usually would scoop up this month (obviously, I will need to buy things like gas and food). So far, it has been difficult but I am doing pretty well. Of course, I'm only five days in! I am definitely going to need to do a lot of praying to succeed with this challenge. I can't wait to see what God is going to accomplish in me this month!

Father God, I have read your words about not letting the things of this world take precedence over you. Then I heard it straight from you. I will need your help to accomplish the task you have given me. Thank you for not giving up on weak, material, human me. I love you so much. Amen.

Another new blog!

I know, I already have so many blogs that I don't even use! But this new one is for my daily bible study that we at The Bridge staff have started. It is an intensive program that uses the SOAP method developed by Wayne Cordeiro of the New Hope Church in Hawaii. SOAP stands for Scripture, Observation, Application and Prayer. We use a scripture journal (or blog) to study a passage every day. My bible blog is http://www.thebookforrachel.blogspot.com The goal is to have a new post every day. Some days, if I can't get to the computer, I journal in a notebook instead of my blog. I am excited to gain more knowledge and insight into God's word and hopefully develop discipline that I can use in other areas of life. Yay!

Latvia in Pictures

WHO?
Me, my uncle Bob, Anna, James, Mitchell and John Carl


Our amazing group! I didn't know any of them, other than Bob, before the trip, but I consider myself blessed to have been included in their merry band!








WHAT?
A Worship Workshop for leaders of the Latvian United Methodist Church. We spent four days teaching the workshop and spent the rest of our time in the Baltic States traveling and sightseeing!

Preparing for Worship. I sang! I was very nervous at first because everyone else in the band is a very talented musician, but during our time there the Lord gave me more confidence. By the end, I may not have been singing better, but I was certainly singing louder!







WHERE?
The workshop was at Wesley Camp -- near Liepaja, Latvia. Only a ten minute walk from the Baltic Sea!


The Alabama group with our new Latvian friends! I would tell you their names, but there's no way I could spell them correctly!













Later, during the sightseeing part of our trip, we spent a few hours at the Hill of Crosses near Siauliai, Lithuania. This monument to Christianity possibly began as early as the 1800s, but it gained more significance during the Soviet occupation, when the Soviets tried to remove the crosses, even bulldozing the hill three times! The Lithuanians and other Christians always came back to replace the crosses, and today there are more than 200,000 crosses on the hill!























Mitchell placed a cross for his church in Tuscaloosa, and we had a mini-prayer service to consecrate it.





















This was the view from our hotel room in Vilnius, the capital city of Lithuania. A beautiful and interesting city with very little nightlife. :-D
One of the most unusual and disconcerting characteristics of the Baltic states is the daylight. In the summer the sun doesn't down until 11 PM or midnight, and then it "bounces" right back up! Our schedules got very mixed up because of this. I think I took this picture at around 10:00 PM!






















One of the most special parts of our trip was meeting Ceara Randall, the newborn daughter of missionaries Dan and Courtney Randall. She was only ten days old when we met her! She is such a precious gift from God. Her parents' blog is linked on the side of this page.




Some more favorite memories from the trip:
Nocturnal Eyepluckers (aka storks)
Kefirs (think liquid sour cream). Delish! :P
Mitchell's "tuberculosis"
Anna thinking John Carl's foot was a pigeon and nearly upsetting the restaurant table
A much-needed fancy steak dinner
Staying up late chatting about past, present and future
Singing at the orphanage in Siauliai
Getting lost in every city we visited, made fun by the boys and their goofy accents (Hello, lady!)
The Angels, "WhiteBread" and the MultiLux
Being street performers for a few hours and making about $2 (if that)
Adventures on Frankfurt, Germany's public transportation system
Getting to know new friends and having new experiences

I've written about the Who, What, and Where. What about the WHY?
WHY ELSE BUT FOR THE GLORY OF GOD?
It didn't hurt that it was super fun, too!


Want to see more pictures? Try here and here.