Less is More

These lyrics have impacted my life in a huge way!

Less is More
By Relient K

Jesus, I pray
Take all my mistakes
Throw them away
Destroy them for my sake
Jesus, I call out 'cause I'm sorry
Because I fall so short of your glory

To the best of my ability
I'm practicing humility
And I lay myself before'
Cause less is more

Chorus:
All that I have
I lay before
With my pride on the floor
Cause to you less is more
All that I have
I lay before
With my pride on the floor
Cause to you less is more

I pour out myself
All that I am
You love me so much
That you fill me again
And may these words on my heart, on my lips
Somehow mean so much more than this
Jesus, I pray
Know what I'm trying to say

Chorus

I pour out myself, before you were Lord
I hold nothing back, 'cause to you less is more
And may these words on my heart on my lips,
Somehow mean so much more than this
Jesus, I pray
Just know what I'm tryin' to say

Chorus

Jesus, I plead
Please purify me
Make my heart clean
Drench me with your mercy
Jesus, I pray
I love you, I need you
For the rest of my days
I swear I will seek you

All that I have
I lay before
With my pride on the floor
Cause to you less is more.

What is around the Corner

You never when you wake up in the morning how God is going to change your plans to His plans. So, I woke up this morning thinking I'd have lunch with some friends, study, go to my small group, then head home and go to bed.
Well, the beginning happened as I had thought, but while I was studying about 20 minutes before I had to be at my small group I had a student who really needed to talk. It was the type of talk that you knew to drop whatever you had planned to spend time with this person. I could not be with her because I was in Beverly, but we talked while I sat at starbucks. So, I ended up skipping my small group. Once we were done talking I was still at starbucks and my dear friend Sara showed up. We sat together for a while and as we were leaving a homeless woman asked for a ride to a shelter. Sara and I brought her to a shelter, but we did not know where we were going. We stopped at a few places trying to figure out where to go. The woman did not know where to go, she was not all there. I sensed some schizophrenia, but I am not a doctor. I ended up making several phone calls to people trying to figure out where we could take this lady. My fifth phone call I finally got someone who sat on the phone and gave us directions. -- Thank you Matt!
After we dropped the lady off Sara and I were thinking maybe that was not the best idea. I have to be honest the entire time I was pretty scared. I did not know anything about this lady. I feared that she was going to pull out a knife or something worse. But I kept thinking..."whatever you do to the least of these you do unto me." I am ashamed to say that we did not verbally share the gospel with her, but we showed her Christ's love. I also was realizing how thankful I am for what the Lord has given me. So many of those things I take for granted. For example, having a roof over my head, having food -- makes me think twice about being picky about what I eat, having clothing, my health, my family etc... Praise the LORD!

Personality test

I recently took a personality test on Facebook...not sure how reliable it is, but it was really interesting and I think that it was pretty accurate. Check it out!

Introverted Sensing Feeling Judging
ISFJs are sympathetic, loyal, considerate and conscientious. They will go to any amount of trouble, when it makes sense to them, to help those in need. ISFJs operate most comfortably in situations where the rules are well defined and where traditions are to be upheld. They focus on providing practical help and services for others and for the organizations they serve. They are often self-effacing in getting the job done, and they are willing to make necessary sacrifices, especially for their families. They are at their best quietly providing assistance and making sure things are in proper order.

To read more details or do your own check out:
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=510507473&k=YZG33WW2PZ2M5AECRK24TT

Our Words

Saturday was a day where I was feeling hopeless. I needed to remember that my hope is in the LORD! A dear friend of mine in high school pointed me to I Peter and ever since then when I feel hopeless I read...I Peter.
That night right before bed I took in my booster shot of hope, but the Lord showed me something else that I was not expecting. "The one who desires life, to love and see good days, must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit. He must turn away from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous, and His ears attend to their prayer, but the face of the LORD is against those who do evil." I Peter 3:10-12
I have been in so many situations where people find themselves in a situation that they don't want to be in or have been hurt by someone and they don't watch what they say. They would rather let their tongue speak deceit and turn from evil.
God has recently brought me face to face with this. There are a handful of people who within the last few months have really hurt me, but over and over again I remember that the eyes of the LORD are on me and I desire to have Him look upon me and grant me peace. Often times when I am tempted to say something negative or tear someone down I think of a tube of toothpaste. Now this illustration is my working with children coming out, but I think it is so clear. When you squeeze a tube of toothpaste you can not put it back in just like our words. I can not take my words back once they come out. I can ask for forgiveness, but I can not take the words back. Especially over the last couple of weeks I have been very aware of this. So, most people have been in a friendship/relationship that did not quite go as planned and then your friends find out about it and ask you about it...Well, this happened to me and people were continually coming up to me saying negative things or trying to get me to say negative things and I just kept thinking that everyone involved are children of Christ and that if I say something negative to tear anyone of them down I am no better than they are. It is about living for Christ and having a heart and attitude and living like Him.
I want my words to bring honor and glory to Christ not to tear down. May God work in your heart and may His words build you up!

Psalm 86

"Incline Your ear, O Lord, and answer me; for i am afflicted and needy. Preserve my soul, for I am a Godly man; O You my God, save Your servant who trust in You. Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to You I cry all day long. Make glad the soul of Your servant, for to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in loving kindness to all who call upon You. Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; and give heed to the voice of my supplications! In the day of my trouble I shall call upon You, for You will answer me. There is no one like You among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like Yours. All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, nor are there any works like Yours. All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, and they shall glorify your name. For you are great and do wonderous deeds; You alone are God. Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name. I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and will glorify Your name forever. For Your lovingkindness toward me is great, and You have delivered my sould from teh depths of Sheol. O God, arrogant men have risen up against me, and a band of violent men have sought my life, and they have not set You before them. But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth. Turn to me, and be gracious to me; oh grant your strength to Your servant, and save the son of Your handmaid. Show me a sign for good, that those who hate me may see it and be ahsamed, because You, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me."
Psalm 86

Blessings on the Community

God has blessed me so much by showing me His love and His care and His compassion through the lives of some dear friends. I have struggled on and off through out my life to know who my community is. I tend to be very trusting, but this has also gotten me in trouble because not everyone is respectful of that. Over the last couple of months, especially the last few weeks God has shown me what a true Christian community is. God has blessed me with some dear friends who have come along side me to uphold me in prayer and companion me through my struggles, life changes, and victories. These people are shinning the Light of the LORD to me. They are striving to live like Jesus and that in and of itself encourages me to live more like Jesus.



Dear Lord Jesus,

You hold my life in your hands and I thank you for the love, compassion, forgiveness and direction you have given me. Lord, you know those people who have come along side me. I pray that you bless them. Show them your self in a magnificient way. Help them to know that they are cherished. Thank you for bringing them into my life. Help me to help be a community to other believers as well. In Jesus name, AMEN.

Beginning Study of Paul

The Lord is amazing! He is always showing Himself in amazing ways. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a weakness for books. I love to buy books -- even though I often struggle to actually read them. Well, this past weekend I smartened up and began to read some of my books. I have also been studying Paul's epistles in my quiet time with the Lord. So, I thought reading Paul the Jewish Theologian would fit perfectly and would companion some of the sermons that I have been listening to about Paul. This book is fantastic! I mentioned at work yesterday that I was studying about Paul in a Jewish context and her response was, "But wait, wasn't he a Greek?" It was a wonderful opportunity to talk about and share my excitement for Paul's entire mission. Shortly after Paul's birth his parents brought him to the temple to learn the Jewish ways. He was a Pharisee. Pharisee's are Jewish. Paul was Jewish. So, why did God call him to minister to the non-Jews? That would be because of his heritage, the fact that he was born in Tarsus gave him Roman citizenship, but most importantly that he surrendered his life to Jesus and wanted to give his life to serving Him. Many speculate that he gave up all of his connections to the Pharisees and Judaism when he experienced the power of God, but there is NO proof any where in the word of God that he let go of his connections with Yahweh. In fact, in Acts 23 Paul announces that he is a Pharisee and that he is also the son of a pharisee. He is not ashamed of who He is. God used Paul as a bridge builder between those who are Jewish and those who are not. Also, as I continue to study more and more of Paul's epistles the amount Torah which he refers to is tremendous. Paul's Bible was the Torah and his theological framework came from what he has experience, was taught and in turn believed. Paul even writes in a circular fashion, which is typical of a Jewish theologian rather than one of western thought and influence. I could go on and on, but what made me really curious was seeing all the Jewishness all through out Paul's life and writings where did the idea's come from that this is not what Paul stood for or was convicted by. According to Young those beliefs would be attributed to Marcion who was a follower of Paul. He took the basic teachings of Paul and ran them through his own theological framework which, in turn, distorted Paul's message. The belief that the Old Testament is for the Jews only stems from his convictions. The idea that God's grace was only revealed in the New Testament. The belief that the Jewish people are despised by the Lord and doesn't hear the prayers of a Jews, and many other "christian beliefs" which are attributed to anti-semitist beliefs in the Pauline epistles is attributed to the interpretations by Marcion and not the word of God. It is amazing to me that so many years ago what one person said has influeced many generations and is still influencing them today. To go off on a slight tangant...If one man could take the truth and bend it. When walking in the footsteps of my Lord and Savior what could He use me to do? How could He use me to influence people and futher His truth in this lost world? As I continue my study of Paul I am encouraged to see and know that a faithful life of one can change the world.

June 9, 2008

Well, Hello! I have never done this blogging thing before, but through many events over the last year I have so much on my mind that I want to share. Fall 2007 the Lord pushed me to begin seminary at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. I was studying Educational Ministries, but was yearning for something deeper. Through many things I ended up changing my course of study to Master of Arts in Religion with a focus in Old Testament Education, but for some reason I still was yearning for me. I wanted and still want to know God in the most real and full extent possible. A couple of my friends mentioned studying in Jerusalem. Over and over again I put the idea out of my mind because of work and some of fear. But God had other plans. At the end of January I sent in my application to Jerusalem University College to finish my master's degree there. By mid February I was accepted and well on my way. Then finances ended up bringing my year abroad to a semester abroad. I will be finished working in my church at the end of the month and be working on Hebrew for the rest of the summer to prepare for Jerusalem!!!
Stay tuned for thoughts, encouragement, and the latest news and once I'm in Jerusalem will have plenty of pictures and stories.