Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
New Blog
I have started a new blog. The address is www.teachingforeternity.blogspot.com. I only have one post so far, but please stop by and check it out. Hopefully, you will read the purpose for the blog and get involved.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Defeating Our Spiritual Enemies
"Be courageous concerning this, O Christian! be not dispirited, as though your spiritual enemies could never be destroyed. You are able to overcome them—not in your own strength—the weakest of them would be too much for you in that; but you can and shall overcome them through the blood of the Lamb. Do not ask, "How shall I dispossess them, for they are greater and mightier than I?" but go to the strong for strength, wait humbly upon God, and the mighty God of Jacob will surely come to the rescue, and you shall sing of victory through his grace."
Taken from Spurgeon's Morning & Evening Devotions
Taken from Spurgeon's Morning & Evening Devotions
Piano Watercolor Quilt
I finally finished this quilt tonight. I sewed on the last two sides of the binding. This quilt is made with 990 2" squares and over 200 different fabrics. Since I started it while in college, it has taken me quite awhile to finish it. Now, I am comtempleting which UFO (unfinished object) to tackle next. We shall see. I have a ton of projects that need to be completed.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Whose Will?
John 5:30, "I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me."
Of ourselves we can accomplish nothing. If we are just accomplishing what our flesh desires, it is going to count for absolutely nothing in eternity. It is more important that we daily accomplish God’s Will than our own. In HIS strength, we can do all things.
Whose will did you accomplish today as you look back over your day? Was it God’s will or your own? If you failed, never fear, for we serve a loving God who is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, if we confess them to Him. Tomorrow is a new day. I challenge you to begin your day by yielding it to the Lord and asking Him to accomplish HIS will in your life.
It is so easy to get frustrated as we go about our day when we are not able to accomplish our plans. I am a big planner and organizer, and this is often a struggle in my life. I set goals to achieve and often other things get in the way. Many times, it is easy to get upset instead of realizing that maybe the Lord had other plans for our day.
Of ourselves we can accomplish nothing. If we are just accomplishing what our flesh desires, it is going to count for absolutely nothing in eternity. It is more important that we daily accomplish God’s Will than our own. In HIS strength, we can do all things.
Whose will did you accomplish today as you look back over your day? Was it God’s will or your own? If you failed, never fear, for we serve a loving God who is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, if we confess them to Him. Tomorrow is a new day. I challenge you to begin your day by yielding it to the Lord and asking Him to accomplish HIS will in your life.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Lest We Forget…
On September 11, 2001, our nation was attacked by a group of terrorists. Many lost their lives and many firefighters, police officers, and other rescue workers sacrificed their lives to save that of another. Memorials have been made in honor of those who gave their lives “lest we forget” them and the sacrifices that were made.
How easy it is for us to forget. We forget promises that were made and never kept. We forget those who made sacrifices for the freedoms that we enjoy today. We have forgotten the Christian heritage of our nation and the fight that was made so that we could have the freedom to serve God as we choose.
The Israelites were also a forgetful people. Exodus 32 tells the story of the Israelites and the Golden calf. The people grew weary of waiting for Moses to come down, so they had Aaron make them a golden calf for them to worship. Just several chapters before, they had promised to be obedient and follow the Lord’s commands, “And he took the book of the covenant, and read it in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient” (24:7). Numerous times, the Nation of Israel repented and promised to follow the Lord, but they soon forgot and fell back into their old sins.
I wonder how many times we are guilty of this same thing. Sometimes it seems so easy to make a commitment and then to forget about it. Many times during a camp, youth rally, or revival we get all stirred up and make great commitments, but then we come home and forget all about them. Part of our problem is that we are so caught up in our daily lives and busyness that we fail to keep the Lord the focus of our lives.
Numerous times in the Old Testament, God reminded the Israelites to love and serve Him with their whole hearts. When we are serving and loving God with all our hearts, then our thoughts will be constantly on Him and our lives will have the right focus. Let me challenge you with this: if you have made a commitment to Lord and have not kept it, why do you not take this moment right now and renew this commitment. Perhaps, you have been caught up with the “cares of this world”, then let me challenge you to ask the Lord to help you keep your relationship with Christ the first priority of your life.
“And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul” (Duet. 10:12).
How easy it is for us to forget. We forget promises that were made and never kept. We forget those who made sacrifices for the freedoms that we enjoy today. We have forgotten the Christian heritage of our nation and the fight that was made so that we could have the freedom to serve God as we choose.
The Israelites were also a forgetful people. Exodus 32 tells the story of the Israelites and the Golden calf. The people grew weary of waiting for Moses to come down, so they had Aaron make them a golden calf for them to worship. Just several chapters before, they had promised to be obedient and follow the Lord’s commands, “And he took the book of the covenant, and read it in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient” (24:7). Numerous times, the Nation of Israel repented and promised to follow the Lord, but they soon forgot and fell back into their old sins.
I wonder how many times we are guilty of this same thing. Sometimes it seems so easy to make a commitment and then to forget about it. Many times during a camp, youth rally, or revival we get all stirred up and make great commitments, but then we come home and forget all about them. Part of our problem is that we are so caught up in our daily lives and busyness that we fail to keep the Lord the focus of our lives.
Numerous times in the Old Testament, God reminded the Israelites to love and serve Him with their whole hearts. When we are serving and loving God with all our hearts, then our thoughts will be constantly on Him and our lives will have the right focus. Let me challenge you with this: if you have made a commitment to Lord and have not kept it, why do you not take this moment right now and renew this commitment. Perhaps, you have been caught up with the “cares of this world”, then let me challenge you to ask the Lord to help you keep your relationship with Christ the first priority of your life.
“And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul” (Duet. 10:12).
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Well, the first day of teaching went great! I even got lots of exercise walking kids back and forth from classes, which I hadn't planned on. At least I won't be sitting all day long. The younger kids are super adorable! I am still trying to work out the details with the harps so I can start teaching that next week.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Darlene Diebler Rose
I came across this site tonight while surfing the web. I thought some of you girls might like to check it out:
http://darlenerose.org/index.html
For those of you who have never read Darlene's book, Evidence Not Seen, you are greatly missing out. This is one of my favorite missionary biographies. I think it is especially interesting being written from a woman's perspective. Very challenging and inspiring!
http://darlenerose.org/index.html
For those of you who have never read Darlene's book, Evidence Not Seen, you are greatly missing out. This is one of my favorite missionary biographies. I think it is especially interesting being written from a woman's perspective. Very challenging and inspiring!
Tomorrow...
Tomorrow I officially start teaching. I am excited, but there are still some minor details that haven't been worked out. Hopefully, all will go well. Right now, I only have part of Thursday scheduled with lessons. I am praying that the Lord will send me some more students, so that both days will be completely full. I know that He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we could ask or think!
Teaching Tip
"Your aim as a teacher is to set each pupil on fire to translate what he has learned into an ardent Christian life." ~ Guy Levitt, from Teach with Success
Friday, September 4, 2009
An Update...
Life has been crazy busy like usual. I try very hard not keep such a busy schedule, but alas that fails. This last week especially has been quite crazy.
On Sunday, I went out to lunch with most of the girls from our "Young Adults" Sunday school class and several other people. We had a good time until they kicked us out of the restaurant for staying too long. We really weren't there that long. They just wanted their tables free. Oh well. So, we went outside and hung out in front of the restaurant. We think that we probably scared some people away, because we made it look like there was a really long line to get in.
After lunch, I went over a friend's house with another girl. We had some great discussions. I have started discipling both of these girls on Wednesday nights before church. This past week was our first time. It went really great! They both have very teachable hearts and are great to work with. You can pray that the Lord gives me wisdom as I am doing this. We are going through a 26 week discipleship course.
The last several days, I have spent trying to get all the details worked out so that I can start teaching next week. There are still some things to work out, but at least I am able to get started with a full schedule on Tuesday. I am hoping some more students will sign up so I can completely fill up Thursday, as well.
I have also started playing the piano for one church service each week, plus some other things. I have decided to continue taking lessons, so I am keeping busy with lots of practicing. Sometimes it gets a little overwhelming, but I am glad to have the accountability to keep practicing.
Time to go to bed! Goodnight!
On Sunday, I went out to lunch with most of the girls from our "Young Adults" Sunday school class and several other people. We had a good time until they kicked us out of the restaurant for staying too long. We really weren't there that long. They just wanted their tables free. Oh well. So, we went outside and hung out in front of the restaurant. We think that we probably scared some people away, because we made it look like there was a really long line to get in.
After lunch, I went over a friend's house with another girl. We had some great discussions. I have started discipling both of these girls on Wednesday nights before church. This past week was our first time. It went really great! They both have very teachable hearts and are great to work with. You can pray that the Lord gives me wisdom as I am doing this. We are going through a 26 week discipleship course.
The last several days, I have spent trying to get all the details worked out so that I can start teaching next week. There are still some things to work out, but at least I am able to get started with a full schedule on Tuesday. I am hoping some more students will sign up so I can completely fill up Thursday, as well.
I have also started playing the piano for one church service each week, plus some other things. I have decided to continue taking lessons, so I am keeping busy with lots of practicing. Sometimes it gets a little overwhelming, but I am glad to have the accountability to keep practicing.
Time to go to bed! Goodnight!
Book Review - A Heart for God
Over the summer I read, A Heart for God by Paul Chappell. This is an excellent book! I highly recommend it to anyone who truly desires to love and serve the Lord with all your heart. I found this book very easy to read and down to earth. He uses many illustrations and makes it very practical. If you're not a big reader, this is a great book for you.
"The more you apply God's Word to your life, the more you grow into the likeness of our Lord Jesus Christ."
"A heart for God will come through the persistent pursuit of God."
Sunday Afternoon Tea
Ellen
Mikyra
Katie
Sammy
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