|
| 1 Peter 3:15 (The Message) 13-18If with
heart and soul you're doing good, do you think you can be stopped? Even
if you suffer for it, you're still better off. Don't give the
opposition a second thought. Through thick and thin, keep your hearts
at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to
speak up and tell anyone who asks why you're living the way you are,
and always with the utmost courtesy. Keep a clear conscience before God
so that when people throw mud at you, none of it will stick. They'll
end up realizing that they're the ones who need a bath. It's better to
suffer for doing good, if that's what God wants, than to be punished
for doing bad. That's what Christ did definitively: suffered because of
others' sins, the Righteous One for the unrighteous ones. He went
through it all—was put to death and then made alive—to bring us to God.
Good stuff. As Christians we are called to know what we believe and why. If we can't explain the "difference" in our lives, how are we going to share Christ with others?
| | |
| Last night at church we had a wonderful time of reflection and prayed based on Psalm 143:10 which says "Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground." Here are some of my "reflections."
God, who have I become when this day is done
Is this who you’ve made me or are my passions invading
Trodding this path
Praying to last
Catching my breath
Am I living for the moment
Or is my gaze fixed on You
Give me strength to see it
Faith to believe it
Grace to endure it
The road is long and dim
Give me eyes to find You
Your love encompasses my soul
Filling up this hole
Making me whole
The moon and stars shout your name
From my lips I proclaim your goodness
My fears dispelled
My love remains
Fragile and insecure
I will love You will all I am
I know You are true
I know You are good
Trials will come
My ship will be swayed
But always you stay
My Anchor, my Rock
I will never be alone
You will never leave me Change me
Rearrange me
Consume my passions
Let me see with Your eyes
Mold me
Shape me
Make me less
Make You more
| | |
| Another little tid bit to catch you up on my life!This is something I posted on my facebook mid-January.
Hey - for those of you who don't know - over the past couple of months
I have been having horrible migraines! I went to my dr. who gave me meds
that made me sick - I went to a chiropractor who didn't do much -
eventually I wound up at a neurologist who ordered an MRI. I had that
yesterday.
So, I got through the scans after going through every Bible verse I’d
ever memorized and singing songs and praying in my head....they wanted
me to stick around for a bit - eventually the radiologist came out and
told me that they were trying to get a hold of my neurologist and
wanted me to stay until they contacted her. I told them that I had an
appointment with her next week and they said they didn’t want me to
wait that long - that there was something that showed up on the scan
that they wanted looked at asap. (that made me feel real good!) So, I
waited an hour and my neurologist never called back - radiologist came
out again and said that she’d left her cell number on the neurologist
machine so hopefully she’d hear from her tonight and then I would get a
call tonight (which was last night) or today.....I called the
neurologist this morning and she called me back and asked me to come in
right away.
There is a mass in my brain that is 43.something mm wide - it looks
like an oblong orange. From just the pictures, my neurologist can't
say what it is. The good news is that whatever it is, it's growing
slowly so my body is having time to adjust to it. If it were growing
quickly, I'd be having other symptoms other than just head aches. I am
supposed to be hearing from a neurosurgeon soon to set an appointment
with him. My neurologist thinks he'll want to get a piece of the mass
to do some testing to find out what it really is.
All this to say, I would covet your prayers! I am doing awesome - I
have a wonderful church family and my family who are taking care of
me...honestly, since I don't know what it is, I am not worried. I am
very much as peace and am taking this one day at a time! I know that
God has got everything under control, so I am just sitting back for the
ride!
I love you guys!
Erin
Good news - surgery was successful - I feel better now than I've felt in a LONG time!!! Instead of the cyst they thought it was, they found a tumor. Thankfully, although it was cancer, it was localized - so it was only in my brain. However, my journey is yet to be completed. I will be going to Duke University here in hopefully a couple of weeks to be seen at their research center to help determine what type of treatment would be best - chemo or radiation or a combo. But, honestly, this has been such a blessing! God has been so incredibly faithful and has sustained me and seen me through. He is INCREDIBLE!!!! Thank you for your prayers!!!
| | |
| Two years later....There has been a large gap from my last entry. There is no excuse. I have failed you. Now, I will try to make a concerted effort to reappear at least a couple times a month.
Here's a little something I wrote back in September of 2006. I like it.
Dumb Christians
Christians are just plain dumb. Not only are
they dumb, they're also lazy. Not only are they dumb and lazy, they
aren't doing anything to stop being dumb and lazy A lot of Christians
remind me of the kid that sits on the couch all day, eating junk food
and watching t.v. Although he may be having fun at the time, the
results years from now may be devastating. Even the world looks at us
Christians and sees slothful, soft-minded people. Are they doing
anything about it? Nope. Not a darn thing. What happened to that verse
that said we needed to have a reason for the hope that we have? Do we
just disregard that Jesus ever said that? If someone asked you why you
were a Christian, what would you say? Would you say anything? Trust me,
you never know when someone..s going to ask. Two years ago, working for
a Christian camp in Seattle, one of the girls in my small group (she
was probably 19 and had been a Christian her whole life) came up to me
one night and popped the question. I was stunned to say the least,
especially coming from her because I knew she was very strong in her
faith. All that to say, you need to be ready.
John MacArthur
says in his book ..The Quest for Character.. that ignorance is the
currency of fools. He goes on to say that foolishness (lacking
knowledge) is very closely related to sin in the Bible. Sin causes us
to be spiritually desensitized or blind. Peter urges us in 2 Peter 1:5
that we should ..Add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge....
Knowledge, although often seen as a source of pride, is an aspect of
godly character Jesus even inferred that knowledge was a biblical
concept when he said, ..You shall know the truth, and the truth shall
make you free... Having knowledge is our ticket to freedom
Can
you articulate your faith? Sure, you trusted Christ for your eternal
salvation twenty something years ago, but do you know why? Or how? If you don't
know why, why do you expect anyone else to?
Here we are,
professing to believe in this unbelievable God who is alive, real and
relevant .. yet we are muddling about doing nothing. We go to church
and sit and the sermon goes in one ear and out the other. We never
change, we never grow. We never challenge ourselves.
It would
be nice if God could just strike me with lightening and install a
wealth of knowledge about Himself into my brain. Is it likely that will
happen?
Proverbs 15:14 says, ..An intelligent person is always
eager to take in more truth; fools feed on fast-food fads and
fancies... Imagine if you lived off fast food
Proverbs 18:15
says, ..The mind of the prudent is ever getting knowledge, and the ear
of the wise is ever seeking (inquiring for and craving) knowledge...
This is just as much for you as it is for me .. I want to be prudent. I want to be prepared.
| | |
| Well, it's funny how God works things out...they're usually not quite the way I expect they're going to go, but somehow, perhaps it's because He's God and I'm justna silly woman, that they work out much better that I had ever imagined.
Ever since I left for Texas to begin my WVA summer, my life has been changing. I had just graduated from college and gotten a new boyfriend and had no idea what lay ahead - I was excited and nervous all at once!
Then, camp happened. Camp is always a good place to be. Granted it is a very sheltered bubble, but I find a great deal of peace inside that bubble. While I camp I unintentionally forget that anything else exsists outside of camp - including people. I neglect my family and friends and anything that is outside of my immediate camp experience. It's not a good thing, but I recognize it happens. I guess that's my attempt to explain why communication has not been happening.
Sooo....changes. God has been changing me - which is what I want. He's been making me uncomfortable and humbling me. He's been allowing me to recognize my selfishness and pride. He's been helping me die to my flesh, which is not a pleasant thing to do. He's also been pointing out to me areas in my life in which I made decisions that were unwise. However, through it all He has faithfully been sustaining me and guiding me. He's not left me to fend for myself, but has been holding my hand all along the journey.
Two weeks ago, God gave me a job! I have the honor and priviledge to me teaching drama at a fine arts elementary school in Ft. Myers, so I'm moving back home! I can't wait. The more I think about it the more excited I become. I start orientation two days after I get home from camp, so it's going to be a whirlwind for sure (kinda reminds me of last summer when I flew home from Seattle and left 36 hours later for Australia - at least I won't have to deal with jet lag!)
I'm in New Hampshire right now - never been here before. It's magnificant. It has an unblemished beauty about it - the forest and the lakes and mountains. I never knew it would be so gorgeous! This is our sixth camp - I honestly don't know where the time has gone.
I am so grateful for my staff...each of them is such an incredible blessing and I know they don't fully understand how much of a blessing they are to me. I hope my actions and words portray what I really mean. | | |
|
