Currently Listening Sound of Melodies By Leeland Carried to the Table see related

Yay! I'm back already, but with a soon-to-be really long post from the Imitation of Christ that I just read and that I encourage everyone else to take time to read it. It will help me retain it better too to type, write, it. Here we go:

Book 2: Considerations for Interior Life, Chapter 8 On the Familiar Friendship of Jesus

  When our Lord is present, all goes well and nothing seems to hard to do for His love; but when He is absent, everything is difficult. When Jesus does not speak to our soul, no other consolation suffices; but if He speaks only one word, we feel great inner joy.

   Did not Mary Magdalene get up at once from where she sat weeping as soon as Martha told her: "The Teacher is here and asking for you" (John 11:28)? Certainly she did. How happy the hour when Jesus calls us from our tears to spiritual joy!

   How dry and hard of heart are you without Jesus and how foolish and useless for you to desire anything besides Jesus, for that desire can harm you more than if you should lose the whole world! For what can the world give you without Jesus?

2. To be without Jesus is the torment of hell, but to be with Him is the joy of paradise. If you have Jesus there is nothing an enemy can do to you.

   Those who find Jesus find the pearl of great price- indeed, the highest good; but those who lose Him lose all. They are in dire poverty who live without Jesus; but they are richest who live with Him.

3. It is a great art to know how to talk with Jesus, and to know to keep Him with you is great wisdom. Be humble and peaceful and Jesus will be with you; be devout and quiet and He will stay with you.

   But as soon as you turn back to outward things, you will quickly drive away your Lord and lose His grace. And if you drive Him from you, to whom then will you flee and to whom will you look for a friend? How can you lead a good life without a friend? If Jesus is not your most dear friend, you will be sad and forsaken.

   How foolish, therefore, to put your trust or happiness in any other. It would be better to have the whole world against you than to hurt Jesus. Of all who are dear to you, let Jesus be your best beloved.

4. All others must be loved for Jesus' sake, but Jesus for Himself alone. Jesus Christ must be loved exclusively, for He alone is proved good and faithful above all other friends. For Him and in Him, you must love friends and foes alike, praying to Him for them, that all may come to know and love Him.

  Never long for special affection or praise, for this is God's sole right, and there is none like Him. Also, do not desire another's exclusive affection, not give that person yours; but just let Jesus be in you and in every good person.

5. Be pure and free of heart and do not become entangled with any creature. If you wish to be free and to experience the sweetness of the Lord, then you must be naked and bring a pure heart to God.

But you can only attain this if you are led by His grace; so that setting aside all else, you may become one with Him alone. When God's grace comes to any person, they are made strong to do all things; and when it leaves them, they are poor and weak only as it were to the pain of bodily penances.

But if this happens to you, do not be dejected nor despair, but resign yourself to the will of God, bearing whatever happens to you for the glory of Christ. For after winter follows summer, after night the day, and after the storm fair weather.

This is a blessing and a straightening of my heart to have read, especially, I must admit, being a single woman and needing to have my heart focused on the Lord and to do His will. I'm nearly tempted to lay down a "small sermon" right here for any other single person struggling to live a holy life of God and battling the temptations we all endure in denying our yearning for another to share our life with before the Lord- even with the purest intentions. But all I have to say is: Seek Him, love Him, and wait...well just live for God and He decides to give us to another, that truly is good, if not, let us praise Him even more and be totally His. That's where I'm at right now. It's good.

Also, be honest with God and share with Him every concern of your heart, giving it all to Him. Go for a walk and talk with Him. He loves it.

WHOA!

Hello XANGA World!

It's been forever since I last posted an update of my life or what God has been teaching me. Well, I'm looking at my last semester at Sam. Whoop! It will be good. I'm :

not so anxious anymore about it; I'm just trusting the Lord to guide me and protect  my heart. He's my Guardian and my Deliverer. Oh so beautiful is our Lord and deserves all of the praise for the great things that He has done in our lives. Let's boast in His works!

Well I've learned to memorize Spanish- began with a secular poem for extra credit for class- but now I've taken to memorizing some verses from the psalms, and they are beautiful.

Here are some, Praise God! Wait, I totally have to say that I did not want to memorize the poem for class at first but due to just being shy of the grade I aimed for and the Lord coaxing me to do it, I did. At that time, I wondered about what good could come from memorizing a secular poem by Becquer, but now I see it. I can memorize scripture in Spanish; which will me a lot with learning the language and to praise Jesus in more than what I know.

Okay, now some verses in Spanish; so beautiful are the meanings. I thank the Lord that I can comprehend it now:

Sean gratos los dichos de mi boca y la meditación de mi corazon, delante de ti, O Jehová, roca mía y rendentor mío. 

Salmo 19:14

Examíname, O Dios, conoce mi corazon; Pruébame y conoce mis pensamientos. Y ve si hay en mí camino de perversidad, y guíame en el camino eterno.

Salmo 139: 23-24

Alaba, o alma mía, a Jehová

Alabaré a Jehová en mi vida

Cantaré salmos a Dios mientras viva.

No confieís en los príncipes,

ni en hijo de hombre, porque no hay en él salvación.

Pues sale su aliento y vuelve a la tierra,

En ese mismo día perecen sus pensamientos.

Bienaventurado aquel cuyo ayudador es el Dios de Jacob,

Cuya esperanza está en Jehová su Dios,...

Aleluya.

Salmo 146

Yeyee... so I finished my thoughts on the month of June. Now the next: July was my break before my last two semesters. It was a great time of reading, thinking, and hanging out with people. However, I had a lot of personal time alone. The Lord has been working on my heart with many things, and my trust is being made to grow. I'm learning how to be obedient especially when I cannot see where my obedience to Him leads. So it's a war against myself because myself wants a clear map that benefits me and causes no trouble without questions; thus without a leaning on the Lord, a reliance, a clinging to Him, a believing in Him. I read the first 4 chapters of Hebrews this morning seeking to hear from the Lord about questions in my heart. They were worth reading. I love His word; it sets me straight and reminds of the hope I have in Him and His glory and His authority and His compassion. But I want to do more than look at it and say "Awww." To be more than a spectator listening to the music play and taking in His words as entertainment. Christ prayed that we be sanctified by His Word. Sanctification is the changing and turning from our old, earthly nature to His holy, spiritual reality- to being one with Him. I'm tired of feeling out of Him, so I cling to the knowledge that I'm in Him, and if there is any sin within that causes me to be separate or any idol of the heart that displaces Him within me, then I confess and Lean on His mercy. Childlike sincerity is my heart's cry and complete obedience to His voice is my aim and hope. So I go from strength to strength...(Psalm 84) through the valley of weeping knowing He is in control. What's cool in that verse is the speaking of those tears as forming into springs of water! I'll walk in the dark if I have to, but I'm not alone, and I dare not light my own fire (Isaiah 50:10-11). So trust is key. Trust to continue walking the pilgrim's road through this world, denying its temporary pleasure for the hope of those eternal and pure. To anyone who's read this far in this post, I really suggest reading the The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan in the modern English translation. It's a beautiful allegory of our walk of faith, encouraging and stripping of our fleshly ways. I've been reading it, and am not done. One thing I recall right now is when Christian's, the Pilgrim's, rags were replaced with a beautiful robe- how that marked him as well as by other things given to him, but more of how it reminds me to be clothed in Christ and to not give provision for the flesh, the carnal desires that trips us when we give into them.

I've typed a lot of spiritual things, but these still are things that I'm seeking to know not only with my head but also experimentally as I walk with the Lord and learn from Him. Their things that I want to do, to act upon and not merely speak about because that is easy to do and then to go to the next thing, speaking about it. I'm thankful though for the Lord's patience and more so His sympathy. Praise be to our Great High Priest! May our hearts not harden today when we hear His voice speak. Let us be sober and alert, and not found sleeping in this awesome faith we've been given.

Well, I've typed enough so far. It's better to go on with the day, to go on and not give up. It's not a hard day at all, but it's a day that has been given. God is good and His mercy endures forever. May my joy not be a swaying and flighty one but one that's of His strength and Spirit; continual, eternal, and flowing from His uncreated life!

EEEKs! So, I didn't post all summer. There's a lot that has happened, of course, and it would be exhausting to really tell all, but I can tell even better of what God has done- isn't that what really is the best anyway? So, I took summer I session- it was great! I had watercolor every morning for 4 hours (8am-12pm), going to beautiful scenic locations with my classmates and then just sitting there painting in the stillness or listening to some good music- many times to Shane & Shane (An evening with...). So, the mornings were blessed and I believe it showed  through with my paintings. By the way, I now love watercolor!!! I was so scared at first and I pleaded with the Lord to be my help with this new medium because I was scared that with it's permanent nature that I would make a mess of the work and have a month of frustration. He proved otherwise within and through me. That month was amazing and encouraging and really  peaceful.

After watercolor, I had that philosophy class that I mentioned in the last post. It was worth taking and I believe that Tyler and I were effective witnesses. It's easy to look back and say what if about certain opportunities but I know that we were the light there- being an encouragement, not known to us, to others and then to some an offense or foolish. But we sought to make His truth known in our comments and counters and stances. I learned a lot about listening and the need for "silent" prayer as people voiced thier opinions and beliefs. If anything at all, that class gave me a good grasp on the state of our generation here in American and how torn people are in their morals and the peril that is there in forsaking our Lord- degenerating our society and losing the individual in the pursuit of gaining our individual freedom and desires through worldly pleasures. Well, I gotta go to class. Adios.

WOW. long time...well...maybe I will write something spiritual or wise...or I'll just write this sentence and come back again later when my thoughts are settled....or not.... I just got out of Contemporary Moral Issues (philosophy of) class and Tyler Shults is in the class and we're psyched because the prof told the class that we could implement religious reasons and beliefs into the conversation as long as we don't say, "Because the Bible says." We have to explain why and that's what we're psyched about.

Usually in conversation when you get to the point of quoting Christ or scripture, the listener wants to end it there in some way whether direct or indirect, and you're unable to give the explanation. But praise God! We can't talk about Him without giving the explanation in class. Our professor says we've got to give the deeper explanation than the quote. Both Tyler and I agree that the professor doesn't realize what he just did. Praise God. But I want to remember this: lean not on your own understanding, but in all things acknowledge the LORD...from Proverbs 3:5-6 (I believe.)