Well I figured it was time to post again; however, this will be short due to time constraints. 

     Life has been good and blessed.  Everyday I can see signs of God's faithfulness in my life.  It seems that they are both big and small occurences that indicate this Faithfulness.  I often wonder if considering the small daily acts of Grace were not really signs of God's faithfulness.  I have since concluded from the time I've spent here at the Academy that no matter how small these acts have been, they are still, each and every one of them, signs and indications of God's faithfulness in my life. 

     The small things are what happen here.  The test grades, the teachers, the focus, the goals met, all of these are God's faithfulness revealed to me.  Yes, they are small, but God works in both big and small ways.  I've got to always remember that...

Have a blessed day and seek signs of God's faithfulness to you. 

His Delight

     This morning as I woke up at 5:30 after a busy day and during an overwhelming week I struggled to wake up.  You might say well just wake up!  It is slightly different however when the motivation that possesses you to wake up early for school and life is not there.  This morning it just wasn't there. 

     Proverbs 8:30-31 says,"Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; And I was daily His delight' rejoicing always before Him' rejoicing in His inhabited world, and my delight was with the sons of men."  Obviously I provided little context with these verses, however, this passage needs little context to challenge me.  Thinking to myself, "am I a delight to God?" I couldn't help but feel discouraged, I believe this was due to being tired.  Instead of being discouraged however, I chose to resist the lies of my emotional exaustion and trust God. 

    He wants us to be His delight and to delight in what he has created.  Half the time I stumble in this area and fail to delight God.  Only a personal God would desire to delight in such ways through us. Who am I to waste the opportunity to daily bring Him delight.  Once again another perspective change to carry me through the day. 

     I hope everyone is doing well.  I pray ya'll will have a blessed day and week.

~Chris

Hello friends and family,

     After another long week and relaxing weekend, it is once again time to start it all over again.  I get awfully tired of Mondays.  Oh well, I suppose the week must start somewhere. 

     Toward the end of last week, I was somewhat perplexed by a verse in the bible, Prov. 3:31.  It spoke of God counseling with the upright in secret.  It seemed strange to me that God confided in and councelled (sp?) with the upright, what does it mean? I asked myself and to my ecouragement one of my good friends helped me understand it. 

     Based on the context of the verse, this passage indicates the special relationship God has with his children.  The relationship that enables fellowship and creates faith.  God does not fellowship with those who are unrighteous, so it almost appears to be an "elite club" (obviously not so elite because we are all sinners to, but you know what I mean.) Maybe you could call it club grace.  So anyway, my good friend then shows me Psalm 73 and I read it in awe as verse after verse exhibitted the significance and sufficiency of scripture.  Please take the time to read this passage.  I was encouraged beyond explanation and realized that God has truly set us apart from unbelievers and that we must expect and rejoice in that if we are living according to His will. 

     Thank you so much for your prayers, God is faithful everyday to support me here as He nourishes you there. Keep 'em coming!

~Chris

     Time, what an interesting concept, a concept so frequent, so joyful, and yet so cruel.  Life would not be the same without it despite it's cruel cycles and careless abandon.  When God gave time to the earth, He knew that such days of peace and joy would not always be and that pain and sorrow would fill time throughout the day and night. Why?  Why did such a thing take place, or rather the more important question is how can such sorrow and pain can of benefit.

     Time cannot be controlled, it is more like a passing wind in which those who are aware of the benefits of God's time utilize to fly high.  Such instances do not cease to exist, however, once one is missed the desire to ride the next one is more difficult.  

     This may seem like post aimed at procrastination or laziness, however it is more than that.  The tendencies I have to worry, procrastinate, or just waste the time God has given me are all examples of me failing to Glorify Him.  Despite brilliant successes or miserable failures, God is in control.  It is His time we are living in, and it is this truth that should motivate us to seek His truth for the use of His time. 

Have a great night,

Chris 

Hey Everyone,

     In Matthew 8:18-34 Jesus and His disciples head out across the Sea of Galilee. As you are probably familiar with the story, they are leaving a multitude behind.  The part of this story that really hit home this morning is the concept of great storms or winds arising suddenly and us not knowing how to handle them. 

     Jesus' disciples were not fearful men and had even been fishermen before this great storm.  I suppose they could have lost their knack for their trade, but I rather assume they maintained their bearing on the sea.  For such a tempest to cause such a fit in these men emphasizes the magnitude of such a storm.  Furthermore, these men had been with Jesus for a while.  They had seen his power and beheld his miracles.  But in this story we find them fearful for their lives. 

     There is great parallelism here for mine and many of your lives.  So often I find myself in a storm of homework, inspection, exaustion, and failure.  As with the storms in Nature, we cannot control these, but we can choose to stay inside.  For me that means staying inside of God's promise of faithfully providing me the Grace to go on. 

     Thank you all for your prayers, God is working through them I promise.  I miss everyone back home so much and can't wait for the next time I see you all.  Hopefully you will have your own stories of God's faithfulness in the midst of life's storms.

~Chris