Sunday, October 31, 2010

Lord Stay Close to Me

I heard this song at church tonight and it has officially become my life song...I think it says it all...




Lord, I knew a time like this would surely come my way

When in disbelief, I'd watch my whole life change

I thought I'd have the words to tell You how I feel

But the only thing my heart is telling me to say is

Chorus
Lord stay close to me, as I journey through the darkness of this great unknown

Lord, stay close to me, though I've place my faith in You, I feel so all alone

My heart trembles like a child as I walk each scary mile

And the only prayer my lips can find to speak is Lord, stay close to me

Verse 2
I guess that I could ask You for some miracle

To even take away this trial that I face

But Lord, I know that You alone know what I need

So would You hold me tight as I journey through this place

Chorus

Oh Lord, when I'm so scared, please be there, Lord

So I can rest in the promise, the promise that You care

Lord I know that I can make it through if all I have is You

Friday, October 29, 2010

Choices...

Have you ever really struggled with God over something? Maybe it's a big decision, or a life changing event, possibly it's something you can't control, or perhaps you can control and what you want isn't what God wants. Often this type of situation requires a lot of prayer and tears.

I have recently had a situation like this arise in my life. I've been planning for the past two years to finish my four year degree in 3 1/2 years. I've worked very hard and had insane class schedules in order to get all the credits and classes I needed. Just recently I had a long chat with the Academic Dean. We did a lot of number crunching and discovered that I'm three credits short of that goal and I have no possible way of cramming those credits into an already packed schedule. Talk about a let down. It felt like I'd done all that work for nothing.

Having come to this point I realized that I now had two choices and either way I was still going to be here for the extra semester. My first option was to throw a little fit and complain, groan and moan about the whole thing. The second choice was to suck it up, realize that God had a purpose in the whole thing and be happy about it. I'm not going to lie, it was a really hard thing for me (still is, actually) and I have shed many tears over it. However, as is often the case in my life, I've found that although I may not see it now, I know that God has a purpose and a plan for all of this. I have to trust that He knows what is best for my life, and His plans are way above my highest imagination and wildest dreams. I have had to lay what *I* wanted at His feet and trust Him for each little and big step I take.

"From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus, unto the twelve, 'Will ye also go away?' Then Simon Peter answered him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.'" (John 6:66-69)

The greatest desire of my heart is to honor and glorify my Heavenly Father in everything that I do. When the end of my life comes I sincerely want to be able to look back on all that I have done and say, "That was all because of God!"

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Yep...I'm still Alive!

I feel like I should write *something* about my life lately. It's been crazy busy, but I've been loving every (well, almost every) minute of it! I'm desperately trying to remember everything that has been going on...it's been an awfully long time since I last wrote. Due to my schedule I haven't been journaling very much, so I can't really look back at that to see what's been going on. However, I do have some pictures that helped boost my memory a bit! ;)

*****
We took advantage of the beautiful fall weather and have studied outside on several occasions.



Well, we couldn't study the *whole* time...had to play at least a lil bit!



*****
My friend Kaye Lani and I went to Knoxville, TN the first weekend of October. Her brother is a freshman at Crown College so we went to visit him. I have more pictures on my camera, but I can't find my card reader so I haven't been able to put them on my computer yet. :-(

We stayed with the Manchester's, they're friends of my parents. We had a great time with them!


Ok, so you'll never guess what this is....it's a 1 oz. milkshake from Steak 'n Shake! Kaye Lani's brother works there and so we spent a lot of time hanging out and part of that resulted in this...let's just say that it was about 11 at night and we were all going crazy! :-)


This was at Crown, they have a really cool little museum about church history.


Dr. Lee Roberson's Bible along with some letters he wrote.


Last weekend my dad came down for a visit. I had a great time with him, I was soooo glad that he came to see me! :)

Classes have been going really well. We're over half way through the semester!! *YAY!* 32 more days until I get to go home! I can't wait! :)

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Determination: An Extended Definition

Determination is the steadfastness of mind that, once a task has begun, it will be completed regardless of the adversity. It is the ability of an individual to say, “If this is what it takes to reach a goal, I am willing to press onward, regardless of the odds, in spite of what anyone may say, no matter the difficulty, pain, or rejection.” Determination cries, “I can see where I am at and where I need to go; I have a purpose and a goal; nothing will stop me from attaining my aspirations!” Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines determination as the “Decision of a question in the mind; firm resolution; settled purpose.” Benjamin Disraeli once stated it this way, “Nothing can resist the human will that will stake even its existence on its stated purpose.” For a Christian, the Apostle Paul put it aptly in Philippians 3:13-14, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

Had the renowned inventor, Thomas Alva Edison, given up on his work of inventing an incandescent light bulb, there is a possibility that electricity as it is know it today would not exist. After over 9,000 attempts at electricity, the right connection was made and current began to flow through the wires and produced light. Edison was willing to fail again and again. Unlike the average person, with each failure he picked himself up and kept persevering onward to his goal. He once said, “Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

The most powerful and perfect pattern of determination is that of Jesus Christ. He stated in recurrent passages of Scripture that His purpose on earth was to do His Father’s will. His purpose was, “…to seek and to save that which was lost.” Christ went through much temptation, suffering and anguish, yet, He doggedly refused to yield to the pain and to the torment. This became most evident in the account of Christ’s time in the garden of Gethsemane on the night before His crucifixion. Here in the garden, all alone, Jesus spent some time praying, not necessarily that His impending death be taken away, but rather that, as He submitted to God’s will, He would be granted the determination needed to press on. “And he was withdrawn from them [the disciples] about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, saying, ‘Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.’ And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 19:41-44) Christ followed through with the plan that the Father had for Him. He was determined to do the right thing, even to the point of death.

Determination is one of the most difficult traits to acquire. It is a compilation of faithfulness, loyalty, and courage. Just as Christ displayed all of these in His determination to die on the cross for the sins of the world, so ought every Christian be unwavering in their stand for what is right and carry on the work that Christ has called them to do. As Paul said, “According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”