Small Prayer Request...

This is a really small prayer request, but any prayers would be greatly appreciated!

About 4 years ago, I started getting tendinitis in my wrist from writing microscopically for all the "cheat sheets" we were allowed to have on our tests for the "unholy trinity" of junior fall meteorology classes (Atmos. Dynamics, Thermodynamics, and Measurements). My efforts paid off, because God blessed me with passing grades!! Unfortunately, though, my wrist took a hit.

Now I normally don't get a flare up of tendinitis unless I am hand-writing something for a long period of time (which is why I type everything now). However, this morning seemingly out of nowhere I'm sitting here at work clicking away on my mouse and it is starting to give me problems, and it hurts and I'm not getting as much work done.

So if you're reading this, please pray that it goes away soon!! I would be so grateful for your prayers.

Thanks!!

Guaranteed to Make You Cry!

My Rock

If my life were a topographic map of the Western North Carolina mountains, a good chunk of this past summer for me would have been the Linville or perhaps the Nantahala Gorge. Or perhaps Linville Caverns even!! But despite feeling like I was in such a valley not only spiritually but also emotionally, I persevered in faith in the living Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and now I feel like He has lifted me all the way to the peak of Mount Mitchell!

Romans 8:26-39 says:

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;

and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?

Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies;
who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will (tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Just as it is written,
"FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG;
WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED."

But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

For I am convinced that neither (death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I love this passage! Simply amazing!! It's just beautiful! Anyone who knows Christ and has been through a period of trial in their life can attest to how wonderful and comforting these promises from God in Romans 8 are. Even if everything around you in the world is imploding,

He only is my rock and my salvation,
My stronghold; I shall not be shaken.
On God my salvation and my glory rest;
The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.
Trust in Him at all times, O people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us. - Psalm 62:6-8

I love the book of Job. It brought me to tears the first time I read it. Job lost everything; his family, his reputation, his health...everything! Of course when we read the book of Job (by the conversation between God and satan in the first chapter) we know that everything that happened to Job was a test allowed by God, but can you imagine what must have been going through Job's mind as the world around him began to completely crumble? He didn't have a Bible telling him that everything he was going through was merely a test, and that he would eventually be blessed twofold in the end. Anyone who ever tries to tell me that the Old Testament was all about the Law and devoid of faith needs to go read or re-read the book of Job! God was truly Job's rock!! I love what Job says in verse 1:21 after he loses his children:

Naked I came from my mother's womb,
And naked I shall return there
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away.
Blessed be the name of the LORD."

(Side note: it is my personal belief that the "great wind" mentioned in verse 19 was big fat destructive F5 wedge tornado)

I mean, is that not incredible faith to be able to say that in the midst of searing loss? Reading about Job's faith challenges me in my own faith because I haven't experienced any kind of loss or sorrow on any magnitude that even compares to Job and what he experienced. My valley may have been Linville Gorge, but Job's was the Grand Canyon! If he can say out of pure faith "Blessed be the name of the Lord" (or in the words of the Brooklyn Tabernacle "Hallelujah anyway!")and Job was an ordinary man like you or I then we should be able, by the power of God in Christ, to do so as well!

And then it goes full circle back to Romans 8..."But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us."

Amazing, y'all!!!

Then there's the cross. You think Job's (a mere man) faith was awe-inspiring, it doesn't even compare to the perfect obedience Jesus displayed in His life and His death upon the cross. How amazing that our Lord and living Savior not only rescues us from our sins but also empowers us to overcome anything!!

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. - Phil 4:13

So what's the purpose of it all? Why does God allow us to "overwhelmingly conquer" and "do all things" through Christ? Why goes he even lift us out of the trenches when we go through "down times" as believers? He paid the price for our sins and purchased us redemption...isn't that enough?

It seems that the prosperity theology (which I absolutely abhor and detest) that is so prevalent in America likes to tell us that it's all about us and our benefit. We "do all things through Christ" and "overwhelmingly conquer" so that God will bless us and bestow on us lots of money and all the likes. NO! No! No no no no! It's about HIM...about his glory being displayed to the whole Earth, so that he may redeem some from every tribe, tongue, and nation! He may, out of His grace choose to make you wealthy, but even if He does, it is still about Him! He's only doing it so that you can use that to bless others and to be his hands and feet to reach the lost. Not for your own gain. If we have Christ, we are all rich even if we are penniless, but that richness is not for us. It's so we can take that richness and share it with the rest of the world for His glory!

So here I am figuratively sitting on the top on Mount Mitchell looking at the whole world before me. I can see so much before me, and it's quite exciting and invigorating. I'm not going to lie...God has me in a place right now where I really feel on top of the world. I feel highly blessed, and I don't deserve one bit of it. my joy is truly entwined with my happiness, which hasn't always been the case in my Christian walk. But I am elated that right now it is! And after spending a few months in the gorge, I can really appreciate being lifted out of it and put in this position a lot better than had I not been in the gorge.

But being lifted up like this and experiencing these undeserved blessings are not about me and how I feel. They're about Him, who is my Rock no matter if it is on the top of a mountain or the depth of a valley. No matter if I shouting my joy across the world for everyone to hear or in a place of suffering and sorrow, it is all for Him and for His glory, however He may use it to redeem the world to Himself. Everything I see before me is for Him and His glory, so that the nations can all be reconciled to Him.

God is AWESOME, y'all! Right now it is easy for me to say all this because I am figuratively on top of the world right now. My sincere prayer, though, is that I can say this with as much enthusiasm for His glory no matter what "elevation" I am going through in my walk with Him.

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Oh yeah...I should mention that my team lost :(. Such a big bummer!

As disappointed as I am, though, I am sooo thankful that I am truly a member of the winning Team for all eternity! You can join too!!

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I also took a "Which Jane Austen Heroine are You" quiz. :-D

I got Lizzie!

Take the Quiz here!

"You are Elizabeth Bennet of Pride & Prejudice! You are intelligent, witty, and tremendously attractive. You have a good head on your shoulders, and oftentimes find yourself the lone beacon of reason in a sea of ridiculousness. You take great pleasure in many things. You are proficient in nearly all of them, though you will never own it. Lest you seem too perfect, you have a tendency toward prejudgement that serves you very ill indeed."

Haha! That's great! She is my favorite Jane Austen heroine!

BOOMER SOONER!!!!

This Saturday = Red River Shootout!!! BOOMER SOONER!!!!!!!!! #1, baby :-D. The poor little shorthorns cannot stop our domination!!!!!

"And all the horns of the wicked He will cut off..." Psalm 75:10

"How Many Kings"

I'm addicted to this CD at the moment (the new Downhere one I mentioned earlier).

Here's a live performance of "How Many Kings"

What it means to be a World Christian

by David Bryant

What, then, shall we call this discovery that can change us so radically and I yet make us so healthy? And, what shall we call those who have experienced it?

By now it should be obvious that all Christians are born again into the Gap between God's world-wide purpose and the fulfillment of it. But there's more than one kind of response to that Gap.

Some are asleep, some are on retreat, and some are determined to stand in the Gap particularly at it's widest end where billions await the opportunity to hear of Christ for the first time. Some are heading into the "sunrise of missions" while others huddle in the shadows. Many move along at a sluggish pace, changing little in the Gap because of their own internal gap-of-unbelief. Others run the race before them setting no limits on how, where, or among whom God will use them.

Some are trapped in boxes or pea-sized Christianity full of myths about missions that rob them of incentive to care about the unreached. Others have broken through into cause-Christianity, ready to reach out with God's love to the ends of the earth. They are determined to make Christ's global cause the unifying focus - the context - for all they are and do in the Gap. Yielded to the mediator, they are willing to be broken and remolded to fit in the Gap wherever they can make the most strategic impact. In turn they're growing to know Christ, obey Him, and glorify Him as the mediator.

So, what shall we call the discovery that redirects Christians toward the needs of the Gap? And how shall we distinguish those who have made it?

Some Christians in the Gap are stunted by selfishness and petty pre-occupations or by a cautious obedience and love reserved for the closest and easiest to care about. How shall we distinguish the others in the Gap whose growth in discipleship is unmistakable, with a vitality that comes only to those who help bring lost sinners from many nations home?

What shall we call this distinct group of Christians who have taken a stand that says:

We want to accept personal responsibility for reaching some of earth's unreached, especially from among the billions at the widest end of the Gap who can only be reached through major new efforts by God's people. Among every people-group where there is no vital, evangelizing Christian community there should be one, there must be one, there shall be one. Together we want to help make this happen.

For a moment, let's call them WORLD CHRISTIANS. Of course, any new term might be misunderstood. For example some might think I said "worldly" Christians, not World Christians. By now we know, however, if you are one you can't be the other. If you are one you don't want to be the other.

No, the term is not in your Bible concordance. Don't worry. It isn't another cliche like the words of the bumper sticker that reads "Honk-if-the-Rapture starts." Nor is it an attempt to label some new spiritual elite who have a corner on a super-secret blessing. Rather, the term describes what all of us are meant to be and what some of us have started to become.

The term "World Christian" may have been coined first by Daniel Fleming in a 1920 YMCA book entitled Marks of a World Christian. More recently the term has appeared in publications of such groups as the WorldTeam missions, Conservation Baptist Foreign Missionary Society, United Presbyterian Center for Mission Studies, the Mission Renewal Teams, Inc., and the Fellowship of World Christians, as well as Campus Crusade for Christ and Inter-varsity Christian Fellowship.

A World Christian isn't better than other Christians. But by God's grace, he has made a discovery so important that life can never be the same again. He has discovered the truth about the Gap, the fact that he is already in it, and the call of Christ to believe, think, plan, and act accordingly. By faith he has chosen to stand in the Gap as a result.

Some World Christians are missionaries who stand in the Gap by physically crossing major human barriers (cultural, political, etc.) to bring the Gospel to those who can hear no other way. But every Christian is meant to be a World Christian, whether you physically "go", or stay at home to provide the sacrificial love, prayers, training, money, and quality of corporate life that backs the witness of those who "go".

World Christians are day-to-day disciples for whom Christ's global cause has become the integrating, overriding priority for all that life is for them. Like disciples should, they actively investigate all that their Master's Great Commission means. Then they act on what they learn.

World Christians are Christians whose life directions have been solidly transformed by a world vision. This is not a term for frustrated Christians who feel trapped into the world missionary movement and sporadically push a few buttons and say they've done their part. Having caught a vision World Christians want to keep that vision and obey it unhesitatingly.

World Christians are (in Corrie Ten Boom's phrase) "tramps for the Lord" who have left their hiding places to roam the Gap with the Savior. They are heaven's expatriates, camping where the kingdom is best served. They are earth's dispossessed, who've journeyed forth to give a dying world not only the Gospel but their own souls as well. They are members of God's global dispersion down through history and out through the nations, reaching the unreached and blessing the families of earth.

By taking three steps we become World Christians. First, World Christians catch a world vision. They see the cause the way God sees it. They see the full scope of the Gap. Next, World Christians keep that world vision. They put the cause at the heart of their life in Christ. They put their life at the heart of the Gap. Then World Christians obey their world vision. Together they develop a strategy that makes a lasting impact on the cause, particularly at the widest end of the Gap.

Many years ago a World Christian named John R. Mott, leader of the Student Volunteer Movement that sent out 20,000 new missionaries, outlined similar steps.

An enterprise which aims at the evangelization of the whole world in a generation, and contemplates the ultimate establishment of the Kingdom of Christ, requires that its leaders be Christian statesmen with far-seeing views, with comprehensive plans, with the power of initiative, and with victorious faith.

Catch! Keep! Obey! - these are the three steps to becoming a World Christian.

Excerpted from In the Gap by David Bryant. Copyright 1979.

Go see it on the Traveling Team website: http://www.thetravelingteam.org/?q=node/365/

Videos!

So, I'm really getting addicted to this whole blogging thing on here. I was hoping to do something more productive tonight...well, I take that back. I have been productive. I did some crocheting, and I read my Bible, and then I taught myself how to play "How Deep the Father's Love for Us". And now I am trying to embed a video on here. So here it goes:




This is the promo video for the Perspectives class that everyone should take! If we all did the North American church would be on FIRE!

Oh yeah and here's an awesome Allison Krauss song that I like (the video is boring). It's a true story but talk about a double meaning!

Please Pray...

...For my brother. Last night, he and his friend were caught with pot and they spent the night in jail. This morning, he had to appear before a judge and as of right now that's all the details I know.

I've been worried about him for a long time. He's 18 years old, doesn't know the Lord, and doesn't want anyone to tell him about the Lord (though I've done it anyway and he hates it). It's going to take an act of God to change his heart, but I know that our God can do it because He changed my hardened heart, and the hardened hearts of many who I know and love!!

I'm not surprised that he got caught doing weed. I've suspected that he's been doing it for a while now, and possibly (but hopefully not) other illegal drugs that are much more dangerous. Even if marijuana is the only thing he's doing, he's still breaking the law and it can can lead to doing much worse stuff later on down the road.

Honestly, I am glad that he got caught and is going to have to be accountable for his actions now. Though I wish he would have stopped doing that and turned away from it long before getting caught. I am praying that this incident will serve in his heart as a wake up call to him about his choices that he makes, and that the Lord will use this to bring my brother into repentance and a saving and personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe that this is why God allowed it to happen. He's young, and seemingly has the whole world ahead of him! He could do amazing things for the kingdom of God!! However, no one knows when they will departing from Earth. If he doesn't turn to Christ now, tomorrow may be too late.

I know my parents are furious and they are most likely going to lay into him really hard (since he still lives at home); especially my dad. I remember the last time he got in really big trouble he tells me that my parents held it over his head for months and I know my brother was really angry about it. As a result, he isolated himself even further from everyone in our family, including me. Pray for my parents as they're having to deal with this. Also, I am praying (and could use prayer) that God will give me the right words to say the next time I speak to my brother. I want to speak Truth to him in a way that shows that it is out of a love and concern for him, and not a desire to make him feel worse about what he has already done. I imagine that because he knows that I am a Christian and that I don't agree with some of the choices he makes, he is dreading having to talk to me. I want him to know that I love him, but at the same time, uncompromisingly convey to him what he most needs to hear.

Thank you! And God bless you!!!