The Awe Factor

Our God is HUGE! He is so big.....In fact was reminded of this fact while reading Francis Chan's crazy love book.
In fact take a look at this

and this

Pretty Amazing isn't it?
God is so big, and in fact we only truly get a good view of ourselves in light of understanding HOW BIG HE IS, and how little we are.
R.C Sproul says it like this : "Men are never duly touched and impressed with a conviction of their insignificance until they have contrasted themselves with the majesty of God."

I am moved by this fact. And truly reminded of how little I am. AND YET how much He loves me! David Crowder's lyrics sing out: "He is jealous for me! His love is like a hurricane, I am a tree bending beneath the the weight of his wind and mercy! "

I was also reminded of God's love at the beach this week. You see a hurricane passed by this week. And the waves were huge.

At one point I was reminded of God's love as big as the ocean. I realized so often I go to to other things for what I should be going to God for. It's like going to a mud puddle to seek significance, happiness, hope, and joy, and the mud puddle never fails to disappoint. And in contrast when I go to God its like an ocean. His love is never ending as far as the eye can see. It is powerful and washes over you. At one point during the big waves I stood still with my arms raised up as the giant wave washed over me and knocked me over with such force. I felt it pull and tug me as the bubbles from the waters current swirled all around me. I came up for air with a big smile on my face as I thought of it as God's love knocking me over, taking control, and I have no choice but to flow with its current and power.

Know you are loved today. I hope your moved with the awe factor of God to seek Him with all your heart.

Beauty from the inside out

So two weekends ago I went to an Authentic Beauty conference with the girls in my youth group. It was amazing. It was an awakening for me. Eric and Leslie Ludy were the speakers and if you don't know them I highly suggest you meet them. They are authors of over 17 books that inspire, and call us to something more. Life as we were design to live it. Full of joy, poured out, and free.

From eating disorders, self obsession, extreme dieting, to plastic surgery today's girls are desperately searching for beauty- but they are looking in all the wrong places. Here is what Leslie has to say about true beauty:



I desire this life! I have been reminded of what is truly important! Eric also gave an illustration of our life as a city. A city needs walls to protect it. If you have holes in the walls the enemy is going to get in. He wants to destroy. I was reminded of this truth. Sometimes its easy to think "ahhh its not that big of a deal to watch this or listen to that" and little by little we compromise and convince ourselves its not that bad. So much of life really is black and white. Either you are doing something that glorifies God and brings you closer to him or the opposite. Kind of like health. Each decision you make is either bringing you closer to health or away from it. Every decision matters. Every thought matters in the life of a Christ follower. I was able to realize what areas of my life I need to surrender and re-evaluate. I offered them and he gave me "JOY OVERFLOWING" I am reading Amy Carmichael's biography and it is so inspiring and she describes something similar in her life:

"I longed yes longed to be glad to be filled with such a wealth of unselfish love. And while I was asking for it , it came. I felt a rush of real joy, His Joy, a thing one can not pump up or imitate or force in any way. So often one so soon clings to the gifts in our lives instead of only to the Giver...."

It is said of Amy: " The preoccupations of girls : their looks, their clothes, their social life. Do not change very much from generation to generation. But in every generation there seem to be a few who make other choices. Amy was one of the few."


I long to be one of the few. I desire to cling only to the Giver. That is where true beauty comes from. Joy springing up inside of us and flows out on a radiant face that looks only to her King......

Broken Hearts.

I was reminded of this song from my dear friend and mentor in my life, Naomie. I spent my life looking for someone to fill my heart, looking everywhere for satisfaction. I had my heart broken over and over again. People, relationships, my apperance, they all let me down. But every broken dream, or others who broke my heart, just pointed me on my way to Christ's arms. God sent Jesus to bind up the broken hearted. He picked me up out of the pit I was in. I still get lost on my way a time or too but I am reminded of Christs Love and that only He can fill that empty place. Even Josh can't fill that in me. If your hurting today know that His arms are open wide. He wont let you down.
And hope does not disappoint, because the LOVE OF GOD HAS BEEN POURED OUT WITHIN OUT HEARTS through the Holy Spirit who was given to us." Romans 5:5



Thank you Jesus for fulfilling every desire, and that true satisfaction is found in you.

Gospel = Power

Outside of heaven, the power of God in its highest density is found inside the gospel This must be so, for the Bible twice describes the gospel as "the power of God" Nothing else in all of scripture is ever described in this way, except for the Person of Jesus Christ. Such a description indicates that the gospel is not only powerful but that it is the ultimate entity in which God's power resides and does its greatest work.

Indeed God's power is seen in erupting volcanoes in the hot boil of our massive sun,and in the lightning speed of a recently discovered star seen streaking through the heavens at 1.5 million miles per hour. Yet in scripture such wonders are never labeled "the power of God". How powerful then must the gospel be that it would merit such a title! AND how great is the salvation it could accomplish in my life, if I would only embrace it by faith and give it central place in my thoughts each day.
- A Gospel Primer for Christians
Be in awe of the power of God today in you and through the Gospel! Thanks be to God.

Are you busy making Mud Pies?

In this day an age we have many ways of getting instant gratification.
We not longer have to hunt and gather for our food. We simply pop open the microwave, or drive to the drive thru. When people desire to loose weight we are more content to simply swollow a pill, or get the fat sucked out of us, than really work for it.
When people desire sex they simply have to turn on the computer for a world of Satan's ploys to lure them in.

It is often true for those of us who are Christ followers. When faced with a decision between God and some temporal pleasure, the temporal pleasure usually wins.
Scott Hafemann in his book The God of Promise and the Life of Faith says it like this: "The wicked road leading to destruction is paved with instant gratification." He proceeds to tell a story about how his son who was six had the choice of saving his birthday money for the toy he had always wanted or immediately spending it on cheaper trinkets that usually broke before they got home. He said "One would think the that better toy would surly win out. But it seldom did. Unfortunately we adults do not fare any better often trading the promise of enjoying God for worldly pleasures."

Even though we know the sorrow this choice most often brings we continue to choose it over the satisfying choice of God.
C.S. Lewis paints a picture like this. "We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

I know this is true in my own life. I so desire to leave my mud pies behind and soak up the Sun on a holiday at the sea. Only true satisfaction can be found in Christ. This worlds pleasures are nothing but a pile of mud.

It's been Settled

“My relationship to God is not a variable one. The case is not that I am a child of God, and then again not a child of God. That is not the basis of my standing, that is not the position. When God had mercy upon me, He made me His child, and I remain his child. A very sinful, and a very unworthy one, perhaps, but still his child! And now, when I fall into sin, I have not sinned against the law, I have sinned against love. Like the prodigal, I will go back to my Father and I ill tell Him, “Father, I am not worthy to be called your son.” But He will embrace me, and He will say, “Do not talk nonsense, you are My child,” and He will shower his love upon me! That is the meaning of putting on the breastplate of righteousness! Never allow the devil to get you into a state of condemnation. Never allow a particular sin to cause again the whole question of your standing before God. That question has been settled.” ~Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Beauty in the Simple

Simplicity - is the property, condition, or quality of being simple or un-combined. It often denotes beauty, purity or clarity. Simple things are usually easier to explain and understand than complicated ones.


"You can always recognize truth by its beauty and simplicity." — Richard Feynman



"But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ." -2 Cor 11:3

It is so easy to get distracted from the simplicity of Christ.
You can lose it in the midst of Christian activity. You can lose it when you get so involved in some of the fascinating aspects of Scripture that you lose "the simplicity that is in Christ." You can lose it in the pressures of daily living. You can get so busy and so worried and so anxious about yourself and the things that are happening to you that you lose the sense that Christ is with you, and He is adequate. This is the beautiful "simplicity that is in Jesus."

As John Calvin says about this verse: "because by the simplicity that is in Christ is meant, that which keeps us in the unadulterated and pure doctrine of the gospel, and admits of no foreign corruption. By this he means that men’s minds are adulterated corrupted, and debauched. Whenever they turn aside, even in the least degree, to the one side or to the other, from the pure doctrine of Christ.

I pray that each of us stays focused on the beauty in the simplicity of the Gospel. Look for the beautiful in the simple things today.

A Fresh Start....

So we had an amazing Holiday with my family in Quebec. It was picture perfect! I am so happy most of all for my mom. She has had such a hard year and this Christmas was for her. It was beautiful! From the Cabin, and playing card games to the fresh snow Christmas morning God provided such a great time.

We have been so busy we hardly know what to do with ourselves! We are pulling out all our flip flops and shorts to head to the Bahamas bright and early tomorrow morning. What a great start to 2009!
I don't know what it is but I have a great feeling about this year! I just know God is going to do some great things in Josh and I this year and I am excited to see all He has in store. As I contemplate what I want 2009 to mean to me this year I think my theme is Stewardship. I want to live well and be a good steward of all the blessings God has given me.
A good steward of my:
Relationship with God
Marriage
Money
Things
Body
Time
and my Family.

I am learning more and more the balance of seeking to live a good holy life. I used to try and be holy because I thought that is how to stay in good relationship with God. I have learned more and more through the Gospel He has payed for my sin and it is covered and seeking to live for God is response of love. I seek to live in a way that honors God not to earn my righteousness but because in living a life that honors Him I delight Him. A life that is lived well for HIS glory is the deepest way to honor the one who lived and died to serve and save us. We desire to make ourselves into images of him.
As Tim Keller says:
"In religion we go to God because he is useful for getting the things our hearts most want. In the GOSPEL we go to God because HE is beautiful. We go simply to get GOD himself. WE want to sense His presence and we know that living a life imitating HIM is the way to do that."

I love that the New Year brings a fresh start. A fresh start to seek to live life well to honor HIM. But the awesome thing is for us who are in Christ "His mercies are new every morning".

Here is hoping that 2009 brings you and I a fresh start in to a deeper Gospel relationship with God. Far different from religion.

The sneaky sin....it sneaks up on ya

"There is no fault which we are more unconscious of in ourselves. And the more we have it the more we dislike it in others. I am talking of Pride...It is because I want to be the big noise at the party that I am annoyed that someone else is being the big noise...Pride leads to every other vice. Pride gets not pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. Pride is a spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or common sense.

In God you come up against something which is in every respect immeasurable superior to yourself. Unless you know God as that - and, therefore know yourself as nothing in comparison - you do not know God at all.

Whenever we find that our religious life is making us feel we are good...above all, that we are better than someone else - I think we may be sure that we are being acted on by the devil. If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed." -C.S Lewis

Pride....it will sneak up on you and suck the life out of you. It is easy to overlook it and focus on other "sin's of a greater kind", sins that you do not commit. But in comparing and contrasting you are indeed getting sucked in to Pride. I found it so interesting that he said, we don't just want to have things or talent, or looks, but having more of it than the next man. We compare our gifts, talents, looks, and things and want to have just as much or more than the next person. Some of us are not in to things or money, but then we want so desperately to be acknowledged for the good things we do for people, or to be defined by something we can do well. If we are humble, compliments AND criticism mean nothing to us. We are found in Christ and we do not worry about what people think.

I know I am so weak in this area. Reading this C.S Lewis quote caused me to examine myself. He sort of gives a Pride Test:

1. How much do I dislike proud people ? ("The more we have it ourselves the more we dislike it in others." He also says we wouldn't be annoyed with people taking up the spotlight if we didn't want it ourselves)

2. How relaxed am I about how I look? (Not just physical looks but concerned with out we are treated, and what people think of you)

3.How Proud do I think I am? ("If you don't think you are conceited, you are very conceited indeed" the humbler you are the more you see your pride and self absorption)
Even seeking to be Holy can be a source of pride! Letting the pride motivate you and comparing to others.

Oh that God would rid me and us of pride! That we may be so absorbed in Him we are not looking to other things to define us or bring us value.

Humility is not thinking less of yourself so much as it is thinking of yourself less.
Jesus was the ultimate example for this. Thankfully we find this fully in the Gospel! Thank you for giving me a change to live the abundant life! I desire to know more and more of this God that is immeasurably superior to me. Change me O God.

Rewarding Repantance

I have been thinking a lot lately about Repentance. Why we do it, how to do it, and it's effect in our lives. I am learning more and more that sin is not just the bad things we do, (gossip, envy, lying ect.) but refusing to live for God's glory and seeking our own glory instead.

In our sin, we must repent. But even repentance can be selfish. When we look at it through the eyes of the Gospel repentance takes on a whole new meaning. Tim Keller said it best in the study on Gospel Christianity I am studying.

"In religion the purpose of repentance is basically to keep God happy so he will continue to bless you and answer your prayers. This means religious repentance is selfish, self righteous and bitter all the way to the bottom. We are mostly sorry for the sin mainly because of its consequences to us. It will bring punishment, or guilt and we want to avoid that so we repent."

The Gospel makes repentance "God Centered" not "self centered". We become sorry for the sin itself, not just trying to atone for the sin by repenting hoping to be better in God's eyes. Tim also says "In religious repentance we try to convince God and ourselves that we are so truly miserable and regretful that we deserve to be forgiven."

In the Gospel Jesus suffered and was miserable for our sin, We don't have to make ourselves suffer He did that for us. The reason we should repent for sin is because of what it does to God. A good example of true repentance is found in Psalm 51. David confessed that his sin was against GOD! Yes he killed a man, and had an affair with a woman but ultimately his first offense was trying to be lord of his own life. All sin is a result of us thinking we have the right to be our own lord and make our OWN choices. Instead we should think that we belong to HIM. David just didn't repent because of the consequences he would face (won't be able to rule Israel, failing his standards, hurting people) He wasn't sorry for what had happened to himself but that it broke God's heart and dishonored HIM! Tim also says :"Only when we do that and realize we owe HIM everything, we will begin to find the sin itself heinous and it will lose its power over us."
The more we see our own flaws and sin, the more precious electrifying and amazing God's grace appears! That should lead us to repentance and obedience out of love, not out of duty. I love the Gospel and the freedom it brings! We are free and atoned for! Praise be to JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD!

Well, I guess I'm doin this blog thing

I just randomly woke up at 5:07 hungry out of my mind. Kinda weird I know, but...cant sleep and gotta eat, guess i can blog too.
Amanda and I are leaving in about 3 hours to go to her mom's in Montreal. We are excited to go and just "be" with her as she is not doing too well. It will be a profitable visit for many reasons. Thanks to all who have prayed so fervently for Debbie. She has been given a resolute faith from God in this crazy season of life. Isn't He amazing; To know that He requires people to trust in Him (for salvation and spiritual growth) but yet He gives them the exact amount of faith that they must have for any given situation.

I'm reading a book by John Owen (no...not Jawoo) called 'Overcoming Sin and Temptation' (by far one of the best I've ever read) as I was reading yesterday, Owen, one of the best Christian thinkers ever, spoke of the trouble that we as Christians have in thinking that God is the one who saves, but after that point, it's up to the individual to "do the rest of the work". I know that I have wondered about this issue a lot. I have gotten upset at times because I have continually asked God to help me and increase my faith in numerous situations in life and yet it doesn't feel like anything changes. Then, on the other hand i've tried to "do it myself" and exert my will, and again, weak faith. Owen gives great insight...Later

I Repent

Derek Webb has a very powerful song called I repent. Even More powerful than the song is the intro. I have been contemplating repentance and my need to feel I have to hide my sin from others. He says such bold statements as "We often believe the Christian Life is about how well we can hide our sin" and "am I the only one sick of living in subculture Christianity that encourages us to hid our sin"

I encourage you to go listen to the intro Here and then the songHere you have to click play to get the clip to play.

It really makes you think about why we do what we do, and the real truth of Christianity which is not hiding your sin in hopes that people might like you, or you can be a great leader, its about being real. Because Jesus knows it all already. We must preach the Gospel to ourselves every day reminding ourselves of what we are living for and that we are FREE!
Let me know what you think of the clips.

He is still in Control

In a world laced with tragedy and suffering. It is important to keep the right perspective even when you question "Why?" or are hurt and confused by circumstances. Right now my mom is fighting a battle against her body with MS. She is in the hospital again and we don't know what is wrong and she is just getting worse. Please pray. I need to remember God is in control. He knows what is best for my mom and loves her more than I ever could.

I think of Steven Curtis Chapman and his family. I remember being at the gym working out when they announced the death of his little girl on the Morning news, run over in the driveway by her older brother. I was shocked and sad that this beautiful family has endured this hardship. I encourage you to go watch thisvideo and let it encourage your heart to enjoy every minute with your kids, husbands, family...we never know how long we have and we must treasure every moment. There is always someone else in a worse situation than us. We must look at suffering in the light of Christ. He already suffered the biggest suffering and as 1 Peter says "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. In this you greatly rejoice though now for a little while if need be you have been grieved by various trials so that the genuineness of your faith being much more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire may be found to praise honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ"

Busy Busy Busy

Well, I really have so much to blog about. God is good that is the first thing. He always is and always will be. I was baptized by my husband Sunday. One of the best days of my life. I will post more about that later when I can upload the pics.
Passion was amazing. One of the best weekends of my life. I enjoyed every minute of it. Here are a few pics some from the web site some of my own of this awesome event:






We have found an apartment in Gloucester! Or should I say God did. I am so excited about it. My dear friend Alexis went to visit it to make sure its ligitamite. The people we are renting from are so sweet. The town itself is what I am so excited about. The Perfect Storm was filmed there. It is a quaint fishing, New England type city. Want to see some pics? I thought so:




Cute eh? Well I am sure I will have more praises for you soon. God is going to have to provide for us MAJORLY in the next month. Moving in and of it self will cost a ton. Pray for us! We trust that God has called us here and He will provide.
We are so excited to get involved in a church called City Life in Boston. It is a church plant from Tim Keller's Church. It is so neat to have a clear calling on our lives. My Husband is so passionate about the Gospel and reaching out to the people of the city. It is neat to know that city is going to be Boston....Greater things are yet to be done in this city.

Tim Keller is Killer

Well...seeing as I can not for the life of me get my husband to post on here...he is just not a blog spot kind of guy, I have decided to blog about this instead of waiting for him to do it.
Tim Keller... We were first introduced to him and his concepts at BBC from a professor Dan Cruver whose ideas of Gospel Centered Living came from Tim Keller and John Piper. Tim is one of a kind. His new book The Reason For God is amazing.
It handles the main reasons people doubt God and the reasons to believe. I have come across a lot of books that deal with this sort of thing but this one is one of a kind. People in this day and age rarely start with the concept of "God" they start with no absolutes and there is no God. He is a pastor of Redeemer Church in NYC. He deals with some of these issues. He has been bold enough to say E.E just doesn’t work in New York City. These people want answers; they don’t even start with the concept of God so when we come at them with "The BIBLE says" they shut you down almost immediately. Don't get me wrong he loves the Gospel and proclaims it boldly. And he doesn't think that if people get answers they will just believe. He knows they are blinded. But we as Christians need to understand why we believe what we believe. When he preaches it really is nothing like you have ever heard. He teaches kind of like the way I imagine Jesus taught. Not very wordy or showy...just truth straight up. His sermon on The Prodigal Sons is revolutionary to the way us "Churched Folks" think. I really encourage you to listen to it. I would love to hear your thoughts on the concept. He also has sermons posted there from the Reason For God. Topics covered in his book such as: How can there be one true Religion, Absolutism: Don't we all have to find truth for ourselves? Literalism: Isn't the Bible historically unreliable and regressive?
Take the time to check these sermons out and I know you will be blessed

Humility

A lesson I need to grow in...a ton 6 Aspects of HumilityHelp me Lord.

Live Like an Alien

"But You are a Chosen Race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
For your were once not a people but now you are the people of God, you had not received mercy
but now you have received mercy. Beloved I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul."<>

So often we live in this world as if it is our home. My good friend Jeremiah Burroughs says "If the next life is all about glorifying God and having little, should we not live here on earth like we will live in the life to come?" which is all about glorifying God and not about earthly possessions. Just like when we are on vacation we don't buy a piece of land for the week we are there, we live like visitors, strangers, so we should live on this earth. Investing in the things that matter. People's souls and the Word.....the only things that will last forever.

Here is a Link to the online version of "The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment" by Jeremiah Burroughs Click Here

Deeper Still....

Well...this past week has been an adventure. We had a wonderful time in Chicago...except when we didn't get home till Thursday instead of Tuesday due to weather. But its all part of God's plan. No decision made yet...we still need to visit Gordon, and pray a lot and see where we get in and what scholarships we get. But when we got home, well work was a mess....(but thanks to my dear friends Rachel, and Greta who helped out A TON) It all got done. So we were ready to get back to normal life agian and then it hit....the worst sickness I have ever witnessed upon my husband. The poor guy started throwing up Thursday evening and didnt stop until 6:00 in the morning at the hospital. He was so weak and ill...then I got it too. Only thankfully I am not a throw-er-upper (hehe). So I just had all the other symptoms with out that part. It was horrible. We were so pathetic lying around our apartment. But we are both feeling some what better today..thank the Lord. But as I was sick I decided to watch a movie of a book I read a few years ago. One of the best books I have ever read and if you haven't read it you simply must.. The movie was great. Not as great as the book, but movies never are. I was reminded of what Betsie would say to Corrie " There is no Pit that is so deep the God is not deeper still." Such a great saying and so true. Those women were so thankful. Always trusting God and having faith. Oh how they loved the Word of God and treasured it so. It was such a good reminder to me that I have nothing NOTHING to complain about. I too can give thanks in everything, from being sick, to Lice....(I don't have lice but thats a part of the book...hehe). I pray that I become a Women of Faith as these Women were and trust God in every circumstance.

A post from my Old Blog.....Still refreshing

Ragamuffin Gospel..... a revolution to my mind

"the American Church today accepts grace in theory but denies it in practice."

"We talk about acquiring virtue as if it were a skill that can be attained like good handwriting or a well grooved golf swing"

"Many Christians live as if it is only personal discipline and self denail that will mold the perfect me. The emphasis is on what I do rather than on what God is doing"

"we experience existentail guilt, our eyes are not on God, we believe we can do it ourselves."

Romans 1:17 " In the Gospel this is what reveals the righteousness of God to us... it shows how faith leads to faith, or as scripture says the righteous shall find life through faith."

God made sinners righteous through the forgiveness of sins in justification.

He has a single relentless stance toward us. He loves us. Through no merit of ours, but by His mercy, we have been reestored to a right relationship with God through the life, death and resurrection of His beloved Son.

This is the good news, the gospel of grace.

"The Church is not a museum for saints but a hospital for sinners"

"Jesus comes not for the super-spiritual but for the wobbly and the weak-kneed who know they don't have it all together."

And that is just quotes from chapter one....some things to think about. So often I try to accomplish my own sanctification. What sweet words that He has one relentless stance towards me!!! He love me...Amazing Grace How sweet the sound...........

Football or Christ?

I Had to post this video....I know he is not God, and his word is not scripture...but the man has a way of saying things that no one else will say. Josh and I are very passionate about this. Espcially in the south, so many people just "do church" as a way of life, not as a love for Christ. So many people think they are safe because they prayed a prayer but Jesus is not Lord of their lives. He is speaking to a group of pastors. I wish more pastors in the South would preach like this.